Why is Dionysus on the cover of Cracks in Pomo?

Last updated on: April 12, 2022 at 12:31 am by Stephen G. Adubato

Why is Dionysus on the cover of Cracks in Pomo? 2022-04-12T00:31:00+00:00 Stephen G. Adubato

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dionysus (or Bacchus, in the Latin rendering) is the Greek god of wine, drunkenness, fertility, insanity, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theater.

In his The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche describes the tension between the Apollonian and Dionysian ideals in art, religion, and culture. He refers, of course, to Dionysus, who represents pleasure, the uncontrollable, unpredictable chaos of nature, and femininity, and his counterpart, Apollo, who represents man-made structure, discipline, order, and masculinity.

Camille Paglia, building on Nietzsche’s dichotomy, asserts that Western culture is characterized by an attempt to reign in the Dionysian with Apollonian principles. Naturally, the Dionysian will always find a way to creep back in through the facade of Apollonian order.

I chose Dionysus as the mascot for Cracks in Pomo because the Enlightenment (Modern thought) has attempted to totally abolish the Dionysian principle, while Postmodernity can go in one of two directions: in its backlash against the constructs of modernity, it allows space for the Dionysian to remerge and will either affirm that human existence is situated in a constant tension between the two forces, or will attempt to codify (neutralize) the Dionysian under Apollonian pretenses.

Further, it is my assertion that the Incarnation, as it is understood by Catholic theology and is celebrated in Catholic liturgy and art, is the ideal integration of the tension between Apollo and Dionysus. Take saints like Anthony of Egypt, Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross; artists like Baudelaire, Wilde, and Huysmans; Baroque architecture and Byzantine chant. It is in the incarnate deity and the legacy He has spawned that the tension between Apollo and Dionysus is coherently held together.

cracks in postmodernity

Previous Post

March 25, 2022

"Latinas Don't Twerk": Ivy Queen's loaded comments on Afrodiasporic music

Next Post

May 7, 2022 Rowe Hot Takes

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category my mediterranean adventures Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 January 2023 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 March 2019 January 2019 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz