The Birth of Tragedy

What It's About

This is a study of the origins of Greek tragedy and a work of cultural criticism. It argues that Athenian tragedy was born from the meeting of two opposing artistic drives. One is the Apollonian, associated with order, form, and the dreamlike beauty of images. The other is the Dionysian, associated with intoxication, music, and the dissolving of the individual into something larger. The author claims that tragedy at its height held both in balance, and that it declined when a rationalist, optimistic outlook took over Greek thought. In the final sections he hopes that German music, and Wagner's work in particular, might revive tragic culture in modern Europe.

Key Concepts

The Apollonian and Dionysian are the central pairing, and the book is where they entered wider philosophical use. Other ideas include the chorus as the source of tragedy, and the argument that art, rather than reason, justifies existence. The book also criticises "Socratic" rationalism for draining life from Greek culture. The book was controversial from the start. Classical scholars attacked it for loose scholarship, and the young author's enthusiasm for Wagner has dated badly. Later he described it as an ambitious but badly written first attempt. Even so, it remains a landmark in the philosophy of art.

About the Author

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher and classical philologist. He was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Basel at the age of 24. Ill health forced him to leave academic life in his thirties. A mental collapse in 1889 ended his working life, and he lived his last years in the care of his family.

About This Edition

This is a 1909 translation by William A. Haussmann.