DIONYSIAN

characteristic of the god Dionysus or the cult of worship of Dionysus; specifically, of a sensuous, frenzied, or orgiastic character. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used the terms Dionysian and Apollonian to analyze and explain the character of Greek tragedy in his book The Birth of Tragedy. According to Nietzsche, Greek tragedy was the result of a fusion of Dionysian and Apollonian elements.