Previous
Aphorism
Apollo and Dionysus are gods of Greek mythology. They represent opposing values and forces—Apollo is the god of light, reason, and balance, and Dionysus is the god of wine, religious ecstasy, fertility, and insanity. So, while Apollo is organized, logical, and subdued, Dionysus is uncontrolled and instinctual. Nietzsche (specifically in his work The Birth of Tragedy) argues that Apollonian and Dionysian forces are present within all Greek tragedies, and that a Greek tragedy is rooted in a tension between these opposing forces. In Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche describes Apollonian and Dionysian as “opposing forms of intoxication.” He explains that the Apollonian force stimulates vision in the artist, whereas the Dionysian force stimulates all of the combined human passions.
Apollonian and Dionysian Quotes in Twilight of the Idols
The Twilight of the Idols quotes below are all either spoken by Apollonian and Dionysian or refer to Apollonian and Dionysian. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Expeditions of an Untimely Man Quotes
The most spiritual human beings, assuming they are the most courageous, also experience by far the most painful tragedies: but it is precisely for this reason that they honour life, because it brings against them its most formidable weapons.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “Expeditions of an Untimely Man,” Nietzsche examines (mostly critically) various intellectual figures of his day. He also offers psychological insight into the problems that plague modern society. In this passage, Nietzsche establishes a connection between “[t]he most spiritual human beings” and people who “experience the most painful tragedies.” In Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche criticizes philosophy for instilling an intolerance for suffering, discomfort, and uncertainty in humanity. This intolerance, in large part, is why philosophy has come to place such a high value on reason: it sees reason as a way out of suffering and uncertainty. But Nietzsche thinks Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam.
What I Owe to the Ancients Quotes
Ultimately my mistrust of Plato extends to the very bottom of him: I find him deviated so far from all the fundamental instincts of the Hellenes, so morally infected, so much an antecedent Christian—he already has the concept ‘good’ as the supreme concept—that I should prefer to describe the entire phenomenon ‘Plato’ by the harsh term ‘higher swindle’ or, if you prefer, ‘idealism’, than by any other.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “What I Owe to the Ancients,” Nietzsche considers the ancient world—mainly through a critical lens, as he does here with his analysis of Plato. Nietzsche condemns Plato for “deviat[ing] so far from the fundamental instincts of the Hellenes.” Nietzsche sees a tension between Apollonian and Dionysian impulses (order and disorder, rationality and impassion) as the foundation of Greek drama. He thinks that Plato has strayed from this ever since he became “morally infected” and obsessed with the idea that the apparent world can’t be trusted and that an ideal, unattainable world exists elsewhere that is more real than the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi solut
Affirmation of life even in its strangest and sternest problems, the will to life rejoicing in its own inexhaustibility through the sacrifice of its highest types—that is what I called Dionysian, that is what I recognized as the bridge to the psychology of the tragic poet. Not so as to get rid of pity and terror, not so as to purify oneself of a dangerous emotion and through its vehement discharge—it was thus Aristotle understood it—: but, beyond pity and terror, to realize in oneself the eternal joy of becoming—that joy which also encompasses joy in destruction.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “What I Owe to the Ancients,” Nietzsche examines the ancient world. While he has no use for much of antiquity (the whole point of this book is to rethink all values and to break free from the philosophies of the past), there are a handful of thinkers and concepts he draws on in his own philosophy. One example is the Dionysian force or impulse. Nietzsche’s earlier work, The Birth of Tragedy, discusses how Greek tragedy relies on a tension between the Apollonian and Dionysian forces or impulses. Apollo is the god of light, reason, and balance; by contrast, Dionysus Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut
Get the entire Twilight of the Idols LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Apollonian and Dionysian Term Timeline in Twilight of the Idols
The timeline below shows where the term Apollonian and Dionysian appears in Twilight of the Idols. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Expeditions of an Untimely Man
10. Nietzsche considers Apollonian and Dionysian, opposing “forms of intoxication” he created and introduced in The Birth of Tragedy. Apollonian intoxication—which...
(full context)
...but have become more distinct and specialized over time. The architect, by contrast, is neither Dionysian nor Apollonian. Instead, the “act of will” inspires them. Only the most powerful men have...
(full context)
...“anti-historical” instinct and the “idealistic” instinct. Nietzsche considers Goethe’s “joyful and trusting fatalism” to be Dionysian, since it’s “the highest of all possible faiths.”
(full context)
What I Owe to the Ancients
4. Nietzsche was the first person to suggest that Dionysus could explain “the older Hellenic instinct,” which is today conceivable only as an “excess of...
(full context)
...Nietzsche sees all intense feeling (even suffering) as an affirmation of life. For Nietzsche, the Dionysian is all about recognizing "in oneself the external joy of becoming—that joy which also encompasses...
(full context)
