Of Butterflies and Masks: the Transfigurations of Apollo in Nietzsche's Early to Later Writings

Nietzsche's early work on culture and tragedy proved influential on subsequent art and aesthetics; the relation between the Apollonian and Dionysian is central to this work. However, that relation is widely misunderstood, especially in its connection to Nietzsche's conceptions of Socrates and modernity. This paper contributes to the rectification of misunderstandings by demonstrating the proper way of understanding these relations. The analysis proceeds by way of a phenomenological treatment of the distinctive structure of the Apollonian. The analysis is reinforced by showing how Nietzsche's later work on the nature of cultural production and change reflects and depends upon it.