Looking Forward, Looking Back: Katabasis on Contemporary Stages Ancient heroes enter the underworld and return alive in a journey called the katabasis. Some seek love and personal gain while others seek information critical to protecting their people. By mapping these ancient katabases and exploring how the trope becomes reused in contemporary popular media, this dissertation examines the profound question of how to battle death. Katabases showcase how underworld realms operate and, in questioning the power balances of the underworld, take the question back to the living realm with the surviving hero. Tracing modern models of katabasis offers insight into the productive use of ancient stories today.