Theseus' arid Peirithoos' descent into the underworld

In my contribution I will first briefly discuss the earliest known literary descent, that by Enkidu, which almost certainly influenced the poet of the Odyssey in his depiction of Odysseus' descent. Then I will take a brief look at some descents in the Archaic Age, in particular the earliest traditions of Theseus and Peirithoos. Subsequently, I will analyse the actual descent of these heroes and I will conclude with some observations on the drama Peirithoos, which was written by either Critias or Euripides.