Origin

When a hero goes to the underworld alive and returns, it gives them the characteristic of immortality. Often the hero returns with a quest-object, a loved one, or with heightened knowledge

Dante's Inferno

Dante travels to the underworld with the help of Virgil, and visits the 7 layers of hell. This poem was used in order to scare people into believing that they would be punished for their sins.

Orpheus

Orpheus travels to the underworld in search for his Eurydice. He asks Hades for permission to enter his kingdom and look for his wife. Once allowed entry, Hades tells Orpheus that he can not look at his wife until they are both into the light. Orpheus was close to being with his wife again, but he looked back at her while she was still in the darkness and she is gone forever.

The Book of Life

In this film, Manolo travels to the land of the dead in order to find his love, Maria. In Mexican culture their are 2 lands of the dead, the land of the remembered and the land of the forgotten. The land of the remembered is ruled by La Muerte, and the land of the forgotten is ruled by Xibalba. After finding out Maria isn't dead he bets with La Muerte and Xibalba in order to return to the land of the living.