Greek mythology consists of various gods, but Nietzsche focuses on the two gods Apollo and Dionysus, the gods that seem to matter the most regarding aesthetics and even referring to them as the “art sponsoring deities”. Apollo the god of light, whose Nietzsche Apollonian character is the disposition for the visual arts, while Dionysus the god of wine is Nietzsche’s Dionysiac character is the disposition for the non-visual art of music. Stating art owes its continuous evolution to the Apollonian-Dionysiac duality. For Nietzsche the Apollonian character is like human reason, rational thought in fact. Apollo is about thinking, not feeling, and especially about control, self control. He is after all also the god of all plastic powers and the
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Dionysus is about turning humans into art. The world becomes the creator, and we allow ourselves to become the canvas. In terms of fine arts, plastic can also mean an emphasis on formal structure. Visual arts were more formal. It kept the humans firmly in control. Apollo is about creating the art. The human becomes the artist, the creator. Where as music or dance, is more spontaneous and passionate. Passion comes in various forms, including pain. Perhaps, by avoiding passion, Apollonian thinking is also an attempt to avoid pain. Old Greeks seemed to be more Dionysian, but as Greek society aged, they moved more towards Apollo. They went from “partying” to living by strict moral standards. He states that the more Dionysian Greeks were obsessed with tragedy, in a way that more modern Greeks were not. Adding that the conflict between the two was what ultimately led to the Greek Tragedy, and it is only with the presence of both character qualities that a true tragedy can be produced. Overall Nietzsche asserts one can either be Apollonian or Dionysiac, but qualities of each character are necessary. If we take Aristotle’s virtue as the mean, we could interpret the Apollonian character as deficiency and the Dionysiac character as excess. The ideal person is able to find the mean, and maintain the balance between both characters,
Dionysus is about turning humans into art. The world becomes the creator, and we allow ourselves to become the canvas. In terms of fine arts, plastic can also mean an emphasis on formal structure. Visual arts were more formal. It kept the humans firmly in control. Apollo is about creating the art. The human becomes the artist, the creator. Where as music or dance, is more spontaneous and passionate. Passion comes in various forms, including pain. Perhaps, by avoiding passion, Apollonian thinking is also an attempt to avoid pain. Old Greeks seemed to be more Dionysian, but as Greek society aged, they moved more towards Apollo. They went from “partying” to living by strict moral standards. He states that the more Dionysian Greeks were obsessed with tragedy, in a way that more modern Greeks were not. Adding that the conflict between the two was what ultimately led to the Greek Tragedy, and it is only with the presence of both character qualities that a true tragedy can be produced. Overall Nietzsche asserts one can either be Apollonian or Dionysiac, but qualities of each character are necessary. If we take Aristotle’s virtue as the mean, we could interpret the Apollonian character as deficiency and the Dionysiac character as excess. The ideal person is able to find the mean, and maintain the balance between both characters,