1. Dionysus Spirit and Apollo Spirit
Nietzsche has pointed out in his maiden work that the continuous development of art is under the restraint the duality of Apollo Spirit and Dionysus Spirit in the way bearing under the duality of sex, which endlessly fights with one another with seasonal compromise. From the angle of Nietzsche, Apollo art is fine arts while Dionysus art is musical art, obviously, there is a great opposition between them. Dionysus and Apollo Nietzsche has mentioned originated from Ancient Greek Mythology. In the Birth of Tragedy, he used symbolism to express Dionysus and Apollo in Greek mythologies: Apollo represents as the magnificent icon of “Individualization principle”, which means “Individualization principle” is just
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Due to the amendment to mythology by history and religions and itself development, the version vary. One version is: He was son of Zeus and mortal Semele. When he was fetus, Hera instigated her to require Zeus to show his true appearance. But after Zeus came to meet her with light and thunder, she couldn’t bear the power of Zeus and was turned to dust and ashes. At the same time, the only thing Zeus could do was to take out Dionysus, cut off his own leg and put him in. Therefore, Dionysus was reborn. Another popular statement is that Dionysus was son of Zeus and Demeter. Hera demanded Titan to arrest him and tear, swallow, with only heart left and looted by Athena, by which Dionysus was reborn. Afterward, the tales of the immortal Dionysus soon went virus everywhere in Greece. Even after he grew up, Hera still refused to let him go. She made him insane, roving around, during his journey, he taught peasants to vintage, by which he became Bacchus, one of the welcomed …show more content…
Stealing fire seed and send it to human, Prometheus was punished severely, and the toughness, nobleness, sacredness reflected by his suffering value. It begins with fierce persecution: Prometheus was locked on the edge of the world, hanged on the majestic Caucasus Mountains, with ruthless steel nail wedged into his chest and bronze shackles tighten his limbs. However, the humiliation brought by punishment can’t knock him down. He knew the result of his actions early, while he was already ready to accept the oncoming attack and abandon by the Gods. The Dionysus spirit reflected by the suffering of Prometheus was both his obedience to the fate and sheer will to surviving. In him, people see the rebirth and physical pain of Dionysus, also the spirit to be tough and strong, which encourages all the ancient
In the myth of Dionysus there isn’t exactly a conflict between two sides of people battling for good or evil, its more as a battle between the two sides of Dionysus’ inner self. Unlike most examples of good versus evil, there isn’t a triumphant side. Just the personality switches between Dionysus being the joy-god or the heartless, savage, brutal-god. The reason for this change is due to the fact that he is the vine god; Wine is bad as well as good. He’d bring up peoples hopes and make them believe that they were capable of anything, but once they were sober again
When people received the fire they were amazed by its benefit – it made preparing food faster, brought warmth in a cold area, and illuminated the darkness. The attributes of fire made survival easier for the people until the usage of it became uncontrollable. They found out that fire, when left unkempt, spreads and destroys everything in its path. As time went on people recognized the great power of fire and harassed it to do evil instead of good. People used fire to start wars, demolish forests, and burn others alive. The fact that everyone knew how to start a fire but could not stop it, proves that it should have been left with the immortals. Prometheus’ theft of fire for man irritated Zeus not only because he disliked the people but also because it gave the people the same power and knowledge as the gods. Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to the people by tying him to a rock and allowed a vulture to eat out his liver everyday for the rest of his life.
Dionysos is defined as the god of wine, festivity, vegetation, pleasure, and divine intoxication. In the Hope Dionysos, he is depicted as a peaceful and joyful figure that represent happiness in Greek mythology. The statue is sculpted from marble as its medium and is classified as a stone
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound is a story of accepting punishment for the greater good. It begins with Prometheus being dragged away to be crucified and punished for interrupting Zeus’ plans to exterminate the human populace. One reads the punishment, being chained to a rock where he must wait for his hero, who has yet to be born, as gruesome and awful, and takes the grace and dignity displayed by Prometheus as an invitation to give him sympathy. “’I gave them intelligence, I made them masters of their
One would clearly be able to see these noticeable similarities between Dionysus and Apollo, but I feel that their severe differences are not as obvious. When taken into consideration, half-brothers that are both Gods would not be deemed such opposites. Their character's express extreme parallels of personality, one being passive and the other more aggressive. I believe that for all of Apollo and Dionysus' similarities, that they are more different than anyone would conclude. It doesn't seem that they would meet eye to eye on any one subject and that
Dionysus was a wanderer. During these journeys he explored the world. On these journeys he came across many different people and taught them how to keep their vines healthy. On one of his journeys he was captured by pirates. While he was in bondage of these pirates they tried to tie him down. Wherever the rope would touch him it would fall apart. In
This sculpture was given the title, “Dionysus,” and is dated at 50 – 150 A.D. During that period, the Roman Empire went through a civil war, multiple rebellions, a couple disastrous fires, the building of the Colosseum, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the peak of Roman military expansion and thirteen different Emperors. One of which started the Flavian Dynasty, which would bring stability to the empire that was crumbling because of financial strife. With all of these events happening, good and bad, it seems difficult to pin point the inspiration or message behind this sculpture. But if you break that period of time down into parts, it may be easier to get a feel for what the artist was feeling so strongly about, whether it was inspired by
Hesiod’s Theogony has transcended generations, delivering to vast audiences the traditional stories of the Greek gods as well as ancient Greek conceptions of the world. One particularly well known aspect of the Theogony, the section that tells the tale of Prometheus, is unique in that it has little intrinsic worth; its value is in its ability to enhance other stories and conceptions. Across the globe, people know well the story of the one who deceived Zeus and stole fire for man, but few recognize its role in Hesiod’s work as a whole. The story of Prometheus serves two primary purposes for Hesiod and his audience. First, it solidifies Zeus’s position as king of the gods, providing one of the first characterizations of his temperament, and
In the story of Prometheus, humans live like wild animals, without fire and homes. Prometheus wonders why Zeus lets the humans live in such a horrid state. Zeus says it is for their own good; however, Prometheus is so disgusted by the human ways that he gives them fire despite Zeus' warnings."'Go now and trouble me (Zeus) no more with your
I chose to compare and contrast two works of art that featured the god Dionysos. Dionysos was a god of celebration and wine, promoting both the intoxicating power of wine and its social benefits for bringing people together. He was an advocate of peace and a promoter of peaceful civilization. Both The Hope Dionysos and the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus represent why Dionysos was such an important and celebrated figure in mythology, which is why I chose to analyze two works of art that centered on him. My first impression of each piece was of Dionysos as a peaceful, benevolent and joyful figure. I was struck by the calm peacefulness he embodied in The Hope Dionysos and the happiness he shared on the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus. Though there are many elements to compare and contrast, my analysis will show that both pieces are tributes and representations of Dionysos meaning and purpose in Roman art.
Though Prometheus is considered a trickster and stole fire, his real crime is a disobedience to Zeus. However, in that statement it is hard to consider caring for man or humans a crime. It is obvious in both stories that Zeus’ reign is sovereign, and Prometheus went against Zeus’ sovereignty. However, what Prometheus did was good for the human race. In Zeus’ eye, man was considered inferior and he wanted man to be destroyed. If Prometheus had not hidden the flame inside a fennel-stalk and gave it to man, we as a people probably would not have advance according to the
The ambiguity of the myth of Prometheus lies in its interpretation. The Greek myth surrounds the creation of man and the part Prometheus played in it. Prometheus (meaning forethought) and his brother, Epimetheus (meaning afterthought), were given certain tasks by Zeus after they fought on Zeus' side in the war with the Titans. As a reward for their loyalty, Zeus gave Epimetheus the responsibility of creating the animals and distributing their qualities, for example, strength, speed, and stamina. Prometheus, on the other hand, was given the task of creating man. Prometheus molded man out of clay, giving them the ability to walk upright so that they could be closer to the heavens and the Gods. Since Epimetheus was extremely rash in his dispersion of the traits and qualities to the animals, when it came time for Prometheus to give some to man, there were none left. So, Prometheus gave man fire, and taught him how to grow food, and how to make objects, such as tools.
Dionysus is an important figure of Greek mythology. He is the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, festivity and pleasure. He represents humanity’s longing for pleasure and desire to celebrate. Dionysus is also the god of hallucination, theatre, reincarnation and homosexuality. He is called: “the youthful, beautiful, but effeminate god of wine. He is also called both by Greeks and Romans Bacchus (Bakchos), that is, the noisy or riotous god…” (Roman 201).
Today’s society is more like the Dionysian because most people lack the creativity and imagination that our society wants according to Nietzsche. There are plenty of people that are Apollonian with the amount of creativity and imagination that they have. Some people are completely imaginative and creative and they can be really smart and do really good things that are not written out. Paragraph 12 of Apollonianism and Dionysianism by Nietzsche states, “The same drive which called art into being as a completion and consummation of existence, and as a guarantee of further existence, gave rise also to that Olympian realm which acted as a transfiguring mirror to the Hellenic will.” This shows how we used to be more interested in the arts and now
In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche explained Greek culture as a battle between what he called the Apollonian and Dionysian forces (Campbell 334). The Apollonian, named after the god Apollo, is “order, lawfulness, perfect form, clarity, precision, self-control, and individuation” (Schact). Fiona Jenkins describes it as “an art of the visible: it is linked to the power of dreams, illusion . . . Through the Apollonian moment of art the individual is reconstituted as a product of his own ‘dream.’” Joseph Campbell adds that Apollo is the god of prophecy, light, and the sky (336). He is also associated with purification of guilt and error (Fagles 17).