The "Descent of Perithous" (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Πειρίθου κατάβασις, Peirithou katabasis) is a fragmentary epic poem that was ascribed to Hesiod by the 2nd-century CE geographer Pausanias.[1] The eponymous topic of the poem would have been the myth of Theseus and Perithous' trip to Hades seeking to win Persephone as bride for Perithous.[2]
Along with the "Wedding of Ceyx" and Aegimus, the "Descent of Perithous" has been considered a poetic narrative by Hesiod that was Muse-inspired.[3] During the expedition, Hades trapped the heroes by seating them in the "chairs of forgetfullness", and only Heracles could save them. The poem is narrated by the ghost of Meleager.[4] One tentatively assigned papyrus fragment survives which includes a conversation between Meleager and Theseus.[5] In this dialogue, the ghosts were talking about how Theseus and Perithous descended to carry off Persephone, a tale Meleager listened to with disgust.[6] It is also proposed that this fragment belongs to the Minyas,[7] and the existence of an independent Hesiodic poem on the descent of Theseus and Perithous is complicated by the fact that elsewhere Pausanias attributes the myth to the Minyas.[8] The sheer number of Hesiodic papyri that have survived compared to those of other works of archaic epic, however, lends credence to the attribution to the Hesiodic corpus.[9]