Very similar idea to Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". [1] That almost all mythological plots tend to be downward U decent into challenges / temptations and return from the abyss, with an upward U return portion where the hero returns through the known and once again receives the call to adventure or another temptation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces