There was one concept brought up last class that was briefly discussed but I wanted to elaborate on it further. In relation to “The Bowmen” by Arthur Machen, Dr. Scanlon brought up the idea of classical literature such as the Odyssey or the Aeneid. These texts often include a concept called “Katabasis”, a Greek word meaning descent into the underworld. In these legendary epic texts, the hero would journey to the realm of the dead for insight, information, protection, or another reason. We see a similar concept happen in reverse, where the dead are seen as coming up to protect the soldiers on the battlefront. It’s also fascinating as often katabasis for the hero included talking to another hero who passed or a loved one. These soldiers were protected by similar figures, those who fought for Britain in the past, similar to the idea of another hero in the underworld. I really loved hearing the classical connection in the class, and wanted to talk about it a little more!