Tearing Yourself Apart: Sparagmos
Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "rip your heart out"
I have a huge fascination with the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy as theorized by Nietzsche, aka the hipster saying “Theater ain’t good no more, it was better in Plato’s days”. To quickly explain, the Apollonian archetype is one of rationality, intelligence, wit, tranquility, beauty, and light with a dash of coldness. On the other hand, the Dionysian is loud, intoxicated, dramatic, warm, artistic, bordering on insanity. Nietzsche dreams of them being in harmony, one not overpowering the other. Chaos and order must be maintained in the arts and especially in theater. If we have too much tragedy, we become melancholic and impoetent. If we have too much comedy, we become frivolous and foolish. According to our philosopher here, we’ve lost this fine balance and cannot make theater that has both cohension and passion.
Moving forward, I want to delve into the concept of sparagmos, literally meaning to tear apart in Greek. When one tears apart the flesh from the body, one holds life in one’s hand. Why is it so powerful to hold the Earth- the whole world- in our hands, as the saying goes? Could it be that the Earth is the “head” of our galaxy, and the “head” of our galaxy- the center of all progress and reason- can be placed in the palm, the power to do whatever one will? If someone allows you to hold their head in your hands, they must trust you very much. You have the capacity to choke them or break their neck, thereby killing them if you so choose to. And yet, you do not. You extend mercy to your possible victim.
Sparagmos entails the death of something- the flesh.
“The head may err, but never the blood.”
Blood is a given immortality- in many legends, a blood transfer or the drinking of someone’s blood gives vitality, new life, etc., or perhaps causes poisoning and misfortune if it does not make one immortal. Dionysus’ followers- the Maenads- have a penchant for sparagmos. It’s common to see them depicted in artwork, music, and literature ripping some poor soul in two and eating them. The best example of this ritualistic killing can be seen in Euripides’ The Bacchae, which I had the pleasure of reading and then remarking, “WTF was that?”. In the play, Dionysus enchants the mother of King Pentheus to become a Maenad, where she then proceed to rip him a new one in the forrest.
Dionysus is also renowned for his drunkeness and his ability to cause delusions/hallucinations. I wonder if there can be something to be said of the various paresthesia that overcome the body when drunk or under the influence? I know this is gonna be simultaneously a very universal and very niche feeling, but have you ever experienced the “coke bugs”? It’s a paresthesia that manifests as the feeling of bugs crawling on your skin or underneath it. I’ve never done a line in my life, but even I know the sensation. It’s strange. What about when someone’s drunk and they get vertigo? Absinthe was historically known as the “Green Fairy” that caused men great artistic inspiration and hallucinogenic woes, at least according to apocryphal accounts.
When we “rip our hearts out”, we feel metaphorical and physical pain. Has anyone ever seen the movie/read the play Suddenly, Last Summer? What a ride that was! I remember reading it and my jaw hit the floor at the end. Spoilers, but with the content of this letter thus far, you can guess what happened. The main male character, Sebastian, has committed the sin of lovin’ him some dudes and his mom, Violet, ain’t having it. The play opens with her lamenting his death and we learn what happened later on. While on vacation in Spain with his sister Catherine, Sebastian is torn apart and partially digested by a bunch of starving kids. Of course, you may be connecting his name to the Saint who was killed when he was shot with a bunch of arrows and martyred, later becoming a symbol for gay men. Sebastian literally had his heart torn out and his “love” eaten. He was devoured by his own chaos and decadence, food for a young life.
