The Birth of The Birth of Tragedy 7.5of the individual will. It is therefore not surprising that Nietzsche dis-
covered this hostility in the elemental facet of life and in the foundation
of culture as well.
The Dionysian in general and its bellicose aspect in particular are sub-
ject to cultural transformations by means of ritualization and sublima-
tion. Nietzsche interpreted the ancient institution of contests as one
such cultural metamorphosis. According to him, the Greeks had a
"streak of cruelty, a tigerlike desire to annihilate" (1,783; HC). In the
Homeric epics, for example, we gaze into "abysses of hate" (1,784; HC).
The Iliad depicts the wrath of Achilles when he drags the corpse of
Hector through the city on a chariot as though it were not offensive and
simply a natural outgrowth of heroism. In Nietzsche's view, this exam-
ple reveals the dimensions of a shocking archaic cruelty that had already
been mitigated by the time of Homer. In the "pre-Homeric world"
(1,785; HC), it must have been far worse. The litde we know of that
world would indicate "night and horror" (1,785; HQ.
Greek culture also exemplified how this militant cruelty could be sub-
limated by contests. Contests in the areas of politics, social life, and art
could be found throughout Greece. Nietzsche quoted from Hesiod,
whose didactic poem Works and Days opened with the description of the
dual Erises, one the goddess of discord and the other the goddess of
envy. One Eris, who arises from the dismal night, promotes wicked
feuding and evokes our desire for strife. But Zeus placed a second Eris
at her side, who redirects the resultant discord in a productive manner
by inducing people to compete rather than murder. Their very rivalry
serves to elevate mankind. Nietzsche quoted Hesiod: " 'She [the second
Eris] impels even the most shiftless man to work; and if someone who
lacks possessions sees someone who is rich, he hurries to sow and plant
and manage his household in the same way; neighbor competes with
neighbor, striving for prosperity. This Eris is beneficial for mankind'"
(1,786; HC).
Jacob Burckhardt had brought the agonistic feature of Greek culture
to Nietzsche's attention, and Nietzsche inserted this concept of the