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Apollo and Dionysus

            I believe the concept of Apollo and Dionysus can be best described in a social sense. Apollo would be the part of a person that wants to spend the night alone in his or her apartment curled up next to a fire listening to some Beethoven or Brahms while reading Tolstoy's War and Peace. Dionysus on the other hand is the part of a person that wants to start drinking and partying around three in the afternoon and wants to make drunken phone calls to old boyfriends or girlfriends. The question is, are these approaches to art credible? I have come to the conclusion that these approaches are not credible in the evaluation of music and other various forms of art .
             The contrast of Apollo and Dionysus is what makes this discussion so interesting. Apollo lived in the heavens with the rest of the gods representing a very serene and peaceful lifestyle. Dionysus on the other hand dwelled on the lower ground with the mortals, in the common. This contrast between heaven and hell can be seen today in our churches. Everything beautiful and calming such as stain glass windows are set up high and out of reach. The organ pipes are soaring towards the sky in an effort to be closer to the heavens. The sacred animals of each god present us with another set of polar characteristics. Apollo's sacred animals are the swan and dolphin. Dionysus has the bull, snake, lion and panther as his sacred animals (Hayashida). Anyone can see or hear the Apollonian influence in the classic ballet Swan Lake, bearing the name of Apollo's scared animal. Dionysus" animals are all conceived to be ferocious and mean-spirited, ready to rip a man apart which is consistent with the myth that Dionysus was once ripped to shreds and everything was eaten except his heart (Gross). Another concept that each god represents is that of Romanticism vs. Classicism. Romanticism is the heightened interest in nature, individual expression and emotion while Classicism is based more on simple forms and restraint.


Essays Related to Apollo and Dionysus

1. Apollo and Dionysus Dichotomy in Greek Mythology

Dionysus and Apollo are two Greek gods who, when studied and compared today, strongly highlight Greek and sometimes non-Greek ideals. ... Zeus rescued Semele's unborn baby and "enclosed him in the recess of his thigh," and from him, the bull-horne god" was born.4 Both Apollo and Dionysus gods established cults; they had a number of followers and demanded they be worshipped. ... While Apollo's persona is characterized by the triumph of order over chaotic, the rational over irrational, the worship of Dionysus, however, is characterized by frenzy, madness and ecstasy. .....

  • Word Count: 1445
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Nietzsche: Apollo & Dionysus

The Birth of Tragedy Nietzsche argues that the ancient Greek deities Apollo and Dionysus are complements of each other in the conception of tragic art as well as the human experience. ... Apollo sponsors similar artistic fields such as epic poetry and statuaries. ... Through the blend of poetry and dramatic scenes with the chorus, the audience, and music, the tragedy composes the image-making and mastering of form of Apollo, who tries to make meaning out of experience, with the instinctual, savage, and sensual nature of Dionysus, who tends to collapse systems through intoxication. ... Thus, on...

  • Word Count: 1180
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Dionysus & Apollo

I see many aspects of Apollo and Dionysus in my everyday life. I strive to be more Apollonian in behavior as to be more efficient and accomplish more in with the limited amount of time we are all presented with. I am compelled to make to-do lists and jot down schedules, however, the Dionysian part o...

  • Word Count: 273
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

4. King Midas

Dionysus suggested seeking out the source of the Pactolus and bathing in its water. ... Dionysus sympathized for Midas" condition and appeared to him. ... Laomedon is a selfish man who promised to give rewards to Poseidon and Apollo after building the city walls. ... In revenge Poseidon and Apollo returned to Mount Olympus sent a plague which was a sea monster. ... Apollo and Poseidon built the city wall in order to receive a reward in return as Laomedon promised but as soon as they were done building the wall he insulted them. ...

  • Word Count: 1773
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

5. What is Music?

In opposition to Apollo is the god of the nonimagistic art, Dionysus. ... As a result, as Apollo is linked with dreams, Dionysus is linked with drunkenness, or the forgetting of the self. ... According to Nietzsche, Apollo was indigenous to the Greeks while Dionysus came from Asia. ... When the destructive energy of Dionysus met with Apollo at Delphi, this reconciliation "was the most important moment in the history of the Greek cult."" Apollo transformed this energy of Dionysus from a "destruction of the principium individuationis [into] an artistic phenomenon- in the form of music and da...

  • Word Count: 4363
  • Approx Pages: 17
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Death in Venice

To be honest, I didn't know too much about ancient mythology when I chose to write the review of Death in Venice on this subject, but the recurring references to Apollo and Dionysus and others struck me as an important mark for this novella. ... is a handsome boy loved by Apollo, the god of the sun, and Zephyrus, the god of the west wind. I don't know which version is true, as I read two different interpretations, but either way, he was either killed inadvertently by Apollo or intentionally by Zephyrus, who was jealous of the boy's love for Apollo. ... It is noteworthy that the ...

  • Word Count: 991
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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Greek and Hebrew Divine Revelations

They believed in gods such as Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Dionysus, Zeus, and many more (Oedipus 13). ... In Oedipus on page 12, it says "Apollo, the Pure, the Far-smiter; O Three that keep evil away, If of old for our city's desire, When the death-cloud hung close to her brow,Ye have banished the wound and the fire, Oh! ... " He is asking Apollo if he cares for them. ...

  • Word Count: 662
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Death In Venice

Apollo was the God of Light and intellect (74). ... According to myth, Dionysus originates from Asia, similar to the plague. ... Tadzio is Aschenbach's Dionysus. Tadzio is worshipped and revered with a flaming passion similar to the way the God Dionysus is revered.. In mythical scriptures, Dionysus is said to "also inflicts insanity" (75) as is the case with Aschenbach who becomes intoxicated and sick with his desire and love for Tadzio. ...

  • Word Count: 920
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Women in Greece

The Olympians include Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hestia (later replaced by Dionysus), Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hades, Hephaestus, and Ares. ... His daughter, Athena, was born from his head and his son Dionysus from his thigh after he had killed their respective mothers. ... Dionysus was the son of a human, Semele and Zeus. ... Zeus rescued her unborn fetus and sewed it into his thigh from which Dionysus was born later. ...

  • Word Count: 1567
  • Approx Pages: 6
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