Apollo (statue), and Dionysus and his followers (vase): Budapest Museum of Fine Art. Photographer: Sándor Bacskai. All rights reserved.

Scholars who study Mann's short story point out that it involves a contrast between the forces represented by the Greek gods Apollo (the god of the sun, and of the arts) and Dionysos (the god of wine, and of drama). This contrast is actually not based on ancient Greek beliefs but on the views of the contemporary philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In this view, Apollo represents rationality while Dionysos represents passion.

Dionysus seems to have followed Aschenbach to Venice with the intent of destroying him. The red-haired man who keeps crossing von Aschenbach's path, in the guise of different characters, is none other than Silenus, chief follower of Dionysus. The Silenoi were drunks, and were usually bald and fat with thick lips and squat noses. 

Ellis Shookman, a prominent literary scholar and author of the book “Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice: A Reference Guide” believes Mann implies that Tadzio partly represents Dionysus. Aschenbach’s attraction to Tadzio would thus appear to be an attraction to all that Dionysus represents. If this conclusion is valid, we can say that Mann allows Aschenbach to be punished and destroyed because he has failed to acknowledge Dionysus’s divinity. Death in Venice is not about religion, but may be taken as a warning against suppressing irrational impulses. This psychological reading makes sense when applied to Aschenbach. Mann exposes such impulses as inhumane, criticizing them because they can be cruel and degrading.

[I have started off the list of references to Apollo and Dionysus. Please add others below, and add your reference to the "Page List with Annotations."]

p. 17: The narrator speaks of Aschenbach's writing as revealing "elegant self-possession concealing inner dissolution and biological decay from the eyes of the world." This account certainly places Aschenbach at the beginning of the story in the realm of Apollo.

p. 126: The narrator describes Aschenbach's dream, which is filled with imagery of sex, lust, and debauchery. This can be attributed to Aschenbach's indulgence in the world of Dionysos, which may be the "strangergod" referred to.

Source: Wikipedia

Works Cited

"Death in Venice"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_venice#Allusions Accessed on July 16, 2008.

"Silenus"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silenus Accessed on July 16, 2008

"Dionysos" Shookman, Ellis. Thomas Mann's Death in Venice: A Reference Guide. 1. Greenwood Publishing, 2004.