Table Of ContentHarry Potter and the Descent to the Underworld:
Katabasis in the Final Installment of J.K. Rowling’s Septology
by Joe Slama
Presented at ΗΣΦ’s Panel for Undergraduate Papers
Society for Classical Studies Annual Meeting
January 6, 2017
Abstract
Harry Potter and the Descent to the Underworld:
Katabasis in the Final Installment of J.K. Rowling’s Septology
This paper examines the presence of criteria for a katabasis in the Classical authors,
focusing on the characteristics Vergil’s Aeneid 6, and relates them to Harry’s journey to the
afterlife in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Throughout Harry’s descent, we
see several elements strongly paralleling Classical tradition which Rowling harnesses to
accomplish a purpose similar to yet also markedly different from Vergil’s.
I employ a set of criteria for defining what constitutes a katabasis. Citing Erling B.
Holtsmark’s essay “Katabasis in the Modern Cinema” (2010), I set forth the following criteria:
(1) Distinct physical features separate the location of the hero’s descent from the rest of the
narrative’s setting; (2) the realm in which the katabasis occurs is inhabited by a number of
creatures characteristic of death and darkness; (3) the presence of one or multiple companion; (4)
the hero undergoes significant character change, often “increased responsibility and leadership”
(26); and (5) he may even experience a rebirth of sorts. In addition to the katabatic elements laid
out by Holtsmark, I also add one of my own, that the death of a character leads the hero to make
his journey to the Underworld.
Both the Aeneid and Hallows have elements which serve to satisfy the criteria given
above by Holtsmark and myself. In addition to fulfilling these, both texts share certain narrative
parallels. First, the hero’s descent begins from a location that contrasts with the depths to be
entered, a location that is characterized its loftiness and nobility. Both authors use katabasis to
elaborate on philosophical views, through which the protagonist gains a greater personal
understanding. Finally, prophecy plays a significant role as a device that heightens the
connection between the physical and spiritual worlds.
In Aeneid 6, Aeneas, seeking his father, with the prophetess Sibyl as his companion, goes
down from the “citadels over which high Apollo stand guard,” which provide the contrast with
“enormous cave” of the Sibyll (6.9-11, translations my own), the physical marker of a removed
location. As they travel through the circles of the Underworld, they pass a number of evil spirits,
hybrids, and personified ailments, and Aeneas meets figures such as Palinurus, Dido, and
comrades from the Trojan War. He is then reunited with his father, and Vergil uses this meeting
to expound a philosophy of death and rebirth and to look toward the future of Aeneas’ quest.
Upon re-ascending, Aeneas experiences a near-literal rebirth as he exits through the Ivory Gate.
By traveling to the Underworld, both Aeneas and we the audience gain a clearer vision of the
task Aeneas has to carry out in the last half of the poem.
The climax of Hallows closely follows the criteria for katabasis in Classical tradition.
However, Harry’s katabasis is not only a literary convention, as he also experiences a literal
death, the most direct path to the afterlife, which sets him apart from the Classical heroes, casting
him as a Christ figure. Harry, realizing he must die to fulfill the prophecy given before his birth,
begins his descent from the high place of Dumbledore’s office tower. He reaches the Forbidden
Forest, patrolled by centaurs and crawling with Voldemort’s dark creatures, and from there has as
companions several of his deceased friends and family members. He experiences a literal death,
thus creating a kind of katabasis within his katabasis to the forest. Speaking to Anchisean
Dumbledore, Harry receives an overview of his life’s journey while the dead headmaster
elaborates his philosophy of love and death and what the future may hold. He then proceeds to
exit his limbo state and return to the world of the living, mirroring the Christian Resurrection.
The end product of Rowling’s unique katabasis blends Classical and Christian elements.
Harry Potter and the Descent to the Underworld:
Katabasis in the Final Installment of J.K. Rowling’s Septology
Parallels between the stories of the Classical tradition and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
series have long been noted: the Latinate spells, mythical creatures, and character names drawing
from mythology or Greek and Latin vocabulary. Rowling, however, is indebted to the Classics
for more than names and fantastic beasts. The books also owe core elements of plot and theme to
ancient storytelling. Rowling is a trained Classicist with a degree from the University of Exeter;
moreover, perhaps more importantly to her storytelling, she writes in the Western literary
tradition handed down from the ancient poets. These influences are evident in the construction of
the climactic katabasis in Rowling’s climactic book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows, a work which contains Classical elements and draws heavily on Vergil’s Aeneid 6.
In his essay “Katabasis in Modern Cinema,” Erling B. Holtsmark identifies key features
of katabasis, a hallmark of the Classical epic, that have been integrated into modern stories, five
of which I discuss here. Although Holtsmark’s focus is specific to film, the criteria he describes
may be equally applied to works of modern literature, which feature narratives and imagination
similar to modern film.1 He first describes (1) the physical locus of the katabasis itself: “since
that other world lies beyond a boundary separating it from our realm, such natural topographical
delimiters … may be physical tokens of demarcation” (2010: 25). This may be signaled by the
appearance of a high-low dichotomy between two places. In this place separated from the rest of
1 In addition to the parallel narrative devices described here, film also bears great similarity to the works of Vergil
in that both are highly visual in nature. Where the visual aspect of film comes from the image itself and
production choices through shooting techniques, special effects, casting, and the directing choices, Vergil’s
poetry gains its visuals from the strength of the language used. In his katabatic narratives, both from the Aeneid
as well as the Georgics, such graphic descriptors include “domos Ditis vacuas” (Aeneid, 6.269), the three-line
description of grim Charon (6.299-301), the graphically arranged “ramos annosaque bracchia pandit” (6.282),
with the two words for “branch” spread out through the line, and the descriptions of various monsters like
“mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum” (6.279) and “Discordia demens / vipereum crinem vittis innexa
cruentis” (6.280-1), the “limus niger” (Georgics, 4.478) and the “regemque tremendum” (4.469).
the world, Holtsmark notes that (2) “the realm itself is inhabited by the wealthy king and queen
of the dead and by innumerable spirits of the dead, by monsters … and evil doers” (25-6). For
the purposes of analyzing Rowling’s work, we may sum up this criterion simply as “dark
inhabitants.” The characteristics of a dark place and its abiding creatures compose the more
literal elements of a katabasis. As the hero descends into this dark place, (3) he is accompanied
“by a companion … or by a loyal retinue of retainers, some or all of whom may be lost in the
course of the journey” (26). Upon returning, (4) the hero has matured from the experience,
gaining “roles of increased responsibility and leadership.” This element may be taken one step
farther as (5) the hero is sometimes literally “reborn when he ascends once more to the upper
world” (27). Thus, Holtsmark’s criteria may be summarized as the descent (whether literal or
metaphorical) of a protagonist to a removed location populated by creatures characteristic of the
realm and mood of the narrative, sometimes accompanied by any number of companions. When
there, the protagonist undergoes character development in preparation for his or her mission, a
growth which may accompany a literal re-birth or re-ascent. In addition to the katabatic elements
laid out by Holtsmark, I also add one of my own, namely that (6) the impetus of a katabasis is
often the death of a character.
Katabatic Features in Vergil’s Aeneid 6
These katabatic elements abound in Aeneid 6, one of the lengthiest examples of an
Underworld journey in Classical literature. Vergil offers us a preview of the descent-to-come in
some of the first lines of the book:
pius Aeneas arces quibus altus Apollo
praesidet horrendaeque procul secreta Sibyllae,
antrum immane, petit (6.9-11)
Devoted Aeneas sought the citadels over which high Apollo
stands guard, and the far-off, secret places of the dreadful Sibyl,
her enormous cave.2
These three lines in juxtaposition3 foreshadow the progression of the entire book: Aeneas,
following the death of his helmsman Palinurus, will begin his journey at the lofty abode of
Apollo and his prophetess, and from that high place descend to the depths. The proximity of
“arces,” a word already bearing conotations of great height, near the adjective “altus” can be
read as a transferred epithet meaning “lofty citadels.”4 Furthermore, its placement in the line
directly above “antrum” (11) creates a visual dichotomy of the top-down journey Aeneas is about
to take. Our hero’s descent into shadowy places begins before he has taken his first step
downwards. For example, Aeneas witnesses sights such as the otherworldly transformation of the
Sibyl, during which she convulses and speaks of coming war and the fiery sacrifice of cattle.
Then, accompanied by the prophetess, he enters the dark cave and descends. There, they meet the
inhabitants of this shadowy realm, passing manifestations of such forces as Old Age, Fear, and
Hunger; cross the paths of mythic centaurs, Gorgons, a Chimaera, and others; and enter the
crowds of shades awaiting passage over the river Styx by the grim ferryman, Charon, whose
obstinacy Aeneas placates with the golden bough. They meet Cerberus and visit the shades
condemned to eternal wandering or, even worse, to the torments in Tartarus, before finally
meeting the souls of the blessed in Elysium.
While Aeneas is in this realm of happy reward, Vergil employs father Anchises, whose
death has spurred Aeneas’ descent, to shed philosophical5 and personal insight into his journey.
Anchises first speaks in pseudo-Epicurean language,6 describing how “mind infused drives the
2 This and all subsequent translations are my own except where noted.
3 The positioning of these lines also hearken back to Vergil’s other well-known katabasis, Orpheus’s journey,
which speaks of the “alta ostia Ditis” (4.467) before several lines later describing the “sedibus imis” (4.471).
4 Pace Horfall, 2013, 70.
5 Philosophy is another element present in Vergil’s katabasis of Orpheus as the poet muses on the behavior of
souls in the afterlife: “nesciaque humanis precibus mansuestere corda” (4.470).
6 Pace Horsfall, 213, 489.
whole mass through its limbs and mixes itself with the great body” (totamque infusa per artus /
mens agitat molem et magno se corpore miscet, 6.726-7) and saying that “fiery is the vigor and
heavenly source for those seeds” (igneus est ollis vigor et caelestis origo / seminibus, 6.730-1).
Then, he describes the movement of souls through and out of the Underworld and gives Aeneas a
dazzling vision of the future of Rome.
Vergil draws on philosophical imagery throughout Book 6. The Stoic thesis that divine
will is immutable and inevitable pervades the book with frequent references to fate, and the
Underworld becomes a place where a mortal such as Aeneas can grasp the will of the gods. The
character of Aeneas has been constantly driven by the fates, and here his encounters with it are
heightened as he prepares to approach the site of his destiny, Italy. He has become more disposed
to accept the gods’ will, as shown by his words to the prophetess: non ulla laborum, / o virgo,
nova mi facies inopinave surgit (6.103-4): “O virgin, no face of toils rises which is new or
unexpected for me.” Furthermore, Aeneas is demarcated as chosen by fate when he plucks the
golden bough required to cross the Styx. Along the journey, the Sibyl provides an embodiment of
this divine will as someone whose purpose is to see and convey it to the mortal world, and who
most powerfully communicates the immutability of divine will with her words to Palinurus:
Desine fata deum flecti sperare precando (6.376): “Cease hoping that the fates of the gods are
bent by praying.” Here, the Stoic idea of virtue as the ultimate measure of men is seen in the
dichotomy created between Tartarus and Elysium, where in one wickedness is punished and in
the other virtue rewarded. Divine will is at its strongest in Elysium while Aeneas speaks to
Anchises, whose death was the impetus for his katabasis. The father shows his son the parade of
illustrious Romans whom fate has ordained to become great among the race that is to be.
Thus, in his descent Aeneas “has journeyed again through his past, and learned to look
forwards not backwards, and has seen something of the future.”7 Vergil has crafted an episode at
the turning point of his epic that speaks to his audience about introspection and the ends to which
personal suffering may be turned. In sum, Aeneas has journeyed down to the Underworld,
encountered its inhabitants, gained philosophical and personal insight, and returned to the world
of the living with a new blaze to accomplish a task described by his late father. As we can see,
Vergil has helped to define the foundations for the Classical model of a katabasis, the model
from which Holtsmark and I draw our criteria.
Finding the Katabasis In Hallows
Within Rowling’s Potter books, there are a number of episodes which conform in whole
or in part to these elements of katabasis as Vergil defines. These include Harry and his friends’
excursions to hellish locations such as the Slytherin Common Room and the giant spider
Aragog’s abode in the Forbidden Forest (Chamber of Secrets); the passageways to the Sorcerer’s
Stone guarded by the Cerberean Fluffy (Sorcerer’s Stone); and events such as the pursuit of
Sirius Black into the Shrieking Shack (Prisoner of Azkaban); the skirmish at Malfoy Manor
(Deathly Hallows); and the respective journeys to the Ministry of Magic (Order of the Phoenix
and Deathly Hallows) or the sanctuaries of Horcruxes (Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows).
These katabatic scenes certainly fulfill the criteria given by Holtsmark and myself, although the
connection to the Classical canon in each of them does not extend much beyond characters or
creatures. Rowling tends to employ these katabatic elements with greater force and depth at the
climax of each book, most particularly in the events of the final novel, Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, which has elements that draw directly upon the katabasis in Aeneid 6.
Additionally, this scene contains both a literary katabasis and a literal one, that is, the death of a
hero.
7 Williams, 1964, 62.
The climax of Hallows closely mirrors this structure laid out in Vergil. The trajectory of
Harry’s life for the past two years – ever since his descent to the Department of Mysteries in the
Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – has been overshadowed by his
learning about the prophecy which prompted Lord Voldemort to attack him as a child. This
prophecy was given by Sibyll Trelawney, named after the prophetess of Rome in Vergil.8
From here, we turn our attention to the katabasis in Hallows, which occurs shortly before
the climax of the entire series. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry begins his descent from the
safety of Dumbledore’s office tower – a lofty place which has almost always in the past been one
of solace and safety. However, Harry, unlike Aeneas, does not make his journey because
someone else has died, but rather so he may die in order to save others from death. He travels
down the stairs to the quieted battlefield of the Hogwarts grounds. Significantly, Harry initially
journeys without companions, for “[t]here would be no good-byes and no explanations, he was
determined of that. This was a journey they [he, Ron, and Hermione] could not take together”
(693). Harry’s isolation in the incipient stages of his descent emphasizes the role that he and he
alone can play in the battle against Voldemort. However, this isolation does not last, as he is soon
joined through his use of the Resurrection Stone9 with his parents, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin,
and Tonks. The dead serve as his companions and guides, a role emphasized by his realization
that “[h]e was not really fetching them: They were fetching him” (698). Leading Harry, they
assure him that death by curse is painless and act “like Patronuses to him” (700) as he progresses
through the evil agents of Voldemort who surround him undetected. He continues on his course
to Voldemort’s camp through the Forbidden Forest, filled with Voldemort’s agents of death: his
8 And it should be noted that, when giving this prophecy, Trelawney displayed strange physical manifestations of
the mystic experience of her own, as Vergil’s Sibyl experienced, such as her voice deepening and later forgetting
she ever spoke such profound words.
9 Retrieved from inside Harry’s Golden Snitch; Aeneas, too, relies on gold to journey forth in his katabasis in the
form of the golden bough. The presence of gold in katabases is also noted by Ristroph (2013, 6).
human Death Eaters and other creatures, such as giants, soul-sucking dementors and the spiders
whose lair Voldemort’s forces have overtaken.10 These fulfill Holtsmark’s criterion of the “dark
inhabitants,” monsters which harken back to the creatures encountered on the way down to
Vergil’s Underworld. In particular, as Rowling has confirmed, dementors, creatures described as
consuming the hope and happiness of their victims, embody sadness and depression just as
embodied diseases and afflictions inhabit the Vergilian Underworld:
vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus Orci
Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae,
pallentesque habitant Morbi tristisque Senectus
et Metus et malesuada Fames ac turpis Egestas,
terribiles visu formae, Letumque Labosque;
tum consanguineus Leti Sopor et mala mentis
Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum,
ferreique Eumenidum thalami et Discordia demens
vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis. (6.274-81)
Before the very entrance in the first jaws of Orcus
Sorrow and vengeful Worries have laid down their lairs;
and sallow Sicknesses dwell there and sad Old Age;
and Fear and seductive Hunger and dirty Poverty,
terrible shapes to see; and Ruin and Toil;
then Stupor, brother of Ruin; and the mind’s malcontent
Joys; and on the opposite threshold, lethal War;
and the iron chambers of the Eumenides and demented Discord,
her hair of vipers entwined with bloody bands.
The camp of Voldemort and his Death Eaters where Harry arrives may be seen as a sort of
Tartarus - the home of evil, condemned souls that the hero must pass through before entering the
home of the blessed. The camp, as well as the whole forest, certainly fulfills Holtsmark’s
requirement for a dark locus set apart from the rest of the narrative. This imagery is particularly
prominent around Voldemort and becomes almost religious in nature; Voldemort, awaiting Harry,
appears as though he “might have been praying,” and behind him the cage protecting his
precious snake appears “like a monstrous halo” (702).
10 Additionally, upon exiting the Forest later, the party passes a band of centaurs, like those seen in Vergil.
Description:focusing on the characteristics Vergil's Aeneid 6, and relates them to Harry's journey to the afterlife in Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
