NEKYIA

Carl Jung borrowed the word Nekyia (νέκυια) directly from Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey. 

In ancient Greek literature and cult practice, Nekyia was the traditional title given to the famous episode where Odysseus travels to the edge of the world to summon and question the ghosts of the dead.

The Original Greek Meaning

Strictly speaking, ancient Greeks made a subtle distinction between two types of underworld stories:

Katabasis: A physical, heroic descent into the underworld (like Orpheus or Heracles walking through the gates of Hades).

Nekyia: A sacrificial, necromantic ritual performed to evoke the dead and question them about the future. Odysseus does not actually wander through Hades in Book 11; he pours a libation of blood into a trench, and the ghosts float up from the dark abyss to speak to him, most notably the blind prophet Tiresias. 

Why Jung Adopted the Word

Jung was deeply well-read in classical mythology, and he integrated Nekyia into his framework of analytical psychology in the early 20th century. He repurposed it to describe the "night sea journey" or the deliberate introversion of the conscious mind into the deepest, darkest layers of the collective unconscious. 

To Jung, studying philosophy, examining one's shadows, or undergoing psychological crisis wasn't just a passive academic exercise. It was a literal Nekyia, a ritual where you stand at the edge of your own abyss, pour out your energy, and summon the "ghosts" (ancestral archetypes, past traumas, forgotten wisdom) to question them so you can return to the light cured, restored, and whole. 

This historical background makes it a fitting concept for a blog about Western philosophy, as it highlights that exploring old lineages of thought requires standing at the edge of the past and calling up the spirits of deceased thinkers to guide us forward.