Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11)

E482463

episode of an epic poem katabasis narrative mythological episode

Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11) is the episode in Homer’s Odyssey where Odysseus journeys to the underworld to consult the dead and receive prophetic guidance.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Aeneas’ katabasis (descent to the Underworld)	1
Homer's Odyssey (catalogue of heroes in the underworld context)	1
Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T4959441 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11)
Context triple: [Anticlea, appearsInEpisode, Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11)]

A. Stymphalian Birds
The Stymphalian Birds are man-eating, bronze-beaked birds from Greek mythology whose defeat by Heracles formed one of his Twelve Labours.
B. Stymphalia
Stymphalia is a village and lake region in northeastern Arcadia, Greece, known from Greek mythology as the site of the Stymphalian birds slain by Heracles.
C. Heliaia
Heliaia was the principal popular court of Classical Athens, composed of large citizen juries that handled most legal cases and played a key role in the city’s democratic system.
D. House of Aeolus through Sisyphus
The House of Aeolus through Sisyphus is the mythological royal lineage descending from the wind-god Aeolus via his cunning grandson Sisyphus, legendary founder and king of Corinth.
E. Autolychus
Autolychus is a figure from Greek mythology, often depicted as a skilled thief and trickster associated with the lineage of notable mythic heroes.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11)
Target entity description: Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11) is the episode in Homer’s Odyssey where Odysseus journeys to the underworld to consult the dead and receive prophetic guidance.

A. Stymphalian Birds
The Stymphalian Birds are man-eating, bronze-beaked birds from Greek mythology whose defeat by Heracles formed one of his Twelve Labours.
B. Stymphalia
Stymphalia is a village and lake region in northeastern Arcadia, Greece, known from Greek mythology as the site of the Stymphalian birds slain by Heracles.
C. the death of Phlebas the Phoenician
The death of Phlebas the Phoenician is a brief, symbolic episode in T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" that portrays a drowned sailor whose fate reflects themes of mortality, transformation, and the erasure of individual identity.
D. Heliaia
Heliaia was the principal popular court of Classical Athens, composed of large citizen juries that handled most legal cases and played a key role in the city’s democratic system.
E. House of Aeolus through Sisyphus
The House of Aeolus through Sisyphus is the mythological royal lineage descending from the wind-god Aeolus via his cunning grandson Sisyphus, legendary founder and king of Corinth.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	episode of an epic poem ⓘ katabasis narrative ⓘ mythological episode ⓘ
appearsIn	Book 11 of the Odyssey ⓘ linked to: The Odyssey
approximateDate	8th century BCE ⓘ
etymology	from Greek nekros meaning dead ⓘ
featuresCharacter	Achilles ⓘ Agamemnon ⓘ Ajax son of Telamon ⓘ linked to: Telamonian Ajax Anticleia ⓘ linked to: Anticlea Elpenor ⓘ Minos ⓘ Orion ⓘ Sisyphus ⓘ Tantalus ⓘ Tiresias ⓘ Tityos ⓘ
featuresDeity	Hades ⓘ Persephone ⓘ
followsInstructionFrom	Circe ⓘ
hasAuthor	Homer ⓘ
hasGreekName	Νέκυια ⓘ
hasTheme	consultation of the dead ⓘ fate and mortality ⓘ journey to the underworld ⓘ memory and kleos ⓘ prophecy ⓘ
includesMotif	catalogue of heroines ⓘ heroic encounter with famous dead warriors ⓘ shades of the dead drinking blood to speak ⓘ
includesRitual	blood sacrifice to the dead ⓘ libations to the dead ⓘ
influenced	later katabasis narratives in Greco-Roman literature ⓘ
language	Ancient Greek ⓘ
literaryGenre	epic poetry ⓘ
mainCharacter	Odysseus ⓘ
narrativeFunction	Odysseus learns about the situation in Ithaca ⓘ Odysseus learns how to appease Poseidon ⓘ Odysseus receives prophetic guidance for his return to Ithaca ⓘ
partOf	Odyssey ⓘ
precededBy	Circe episode in Book 10 of the Odyssey ⓘ
setting	House of Hades ⓘ Underworld ⓘ
studiedIn	classical philology ⓘ comparative literature ⓘ religious studies ⓘ
timePeriodOfComposition	Archaic Greece ⓘ
tradition	Ancient Greek mythology ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Anticlea → appearsInEpisode → Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11) ⓘ

Misenus → diesBefore → Aeneas’ katabasis (descent to the Underworld) ⓘ

subject linked to: Misenus (mythological trumpeter of Aeneas)

linked to: Nekyia (Odyssey, Book 11)

Polypoetes → mentionedIn → Homer's Odyssey (catalogue of heroes in the underworld context) ⓘ