Beta, Alpha, Apollo & Dionysus

“For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” Matt. 7:29

With the rise of the red-pill, men in the alt-right now conceptualize themselves in terms of the alpha and beta. We have the alpha, the aloof cad who gets the girls and we have the white-knighting beta, with his visions of marital bliss and idealism. Many reading are probably already familiar with the dichotomy that Nietzsche drew between the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus in The Birth of Tragedy. I think it would be helpful though to use these contrasting figures to draw a parallel between our concept of alpha and beta. The alpha is Dionysus, lustful, strong, intoxicated, passionate, unpredictable, instinctual and chaotic while the beta is Apollo, reasoned, concerned with truth, law, order, and harmony. If you know your ancient Greek mythology, you will recall that Dionysus was loved by women and had a procession of female followers called Maenads. Apollo wasn’t as lucky. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses he was so desperate that he attempted to chase down and force sex on a nymph named Daphne. I think it is clear the ancient Greeks understood the nature of human sexuality long before we had the manosphere to come and enlighten us. If you’ll allow me to couple the characteristics of the beta with Apollo and those of the alpha with Dionysus, I will briefly show how betas can group together, overpower, and override alphas and how a true leader, the ideal man is neither Apollo nor Dionysus but a fusion of the two.

Imagine with me. Once there were ten people on a desert island, five women and five men, and of the men one alpha and four betas. After one day on the island the alpha using his charm and charisma established himself as ruler of the island. Initially the betas made the mistake of believing he was just like them and because of his strength they went along with the scheme. Some of the characteristics or powers, if you will, that the betas employed were reason, fidelity, consistency of word and action, and the ability to join in a mutually beneficial relationship with other betas. Their weakness was that they initially assumed that everyone else had the same inner nature as them. The betas assumed that the five women and the one alpha were Apollonian. It didn’t take long (a few days really) for the trusting Apollonians to realize that something was awry. The alpha said that he was going apportion resources fairly to everyone on the island. He hadn’t done so. He had horded everything for himself. Also the Apollonians, using their powers of logic, noticed that as his list of decrees piled up many of them contradicted one-another, were chaotic and had no consistency. The Apollonians were forced to conclude that their Dionysian ruler was making decisions based on personal whim rather than accord with their ideal of Justice. To add insult to injury the women only had eyes for the Dionysian and he obligingly took all of them for himself. Once this dawns on the betas (you could say they were “red-pilled”) they were forced to re-conceptualize how they viewed their little island world and the other people in it. They had a sort of collective awakening where they learned to distinguish between Apollonian and non-Apollonian. Soon the four betas made a secret compact with one another that nullified the violated compacts they had previously made with the alpha and the five women and solidified the bonds between themselves. Next they put together a well ordered plan to remove the alpha from power. The four betas initiated their plan and with their joint strength were able to overpower the alpha. They first redistributed the resources equitably and then banished the alpha with his ration and his allotted one lady friend to the far side of the island.

The four betas attempted a joint rule between themselves but it didn’t take long before problems started to arise. You see once the betas came to power they fashioned a wonderful document stating that all betas were equal to one another. It stated, therefore, that all betas had an equal say in how the island ought to be governed. Next they thoroughly reasoned through a set of laws to be put in place laying out exactly how their little society was to be run. Things went well at first and everything was running smoothly until some unforeseen problems started to rear their head. First of all the women were discontent, they liked the comfort and prosperity their new society provided them but they were all haunted by the joyous spontaneity the banished alpha once gave them. More importantly threats to their society were presenting themselves that the betas seemed unable to cope with. If a problem were to come up for which the betas had no written law they would completely freeze. They wouldn’t know what to do. For example, once a large storm hit and they all ran and hid in their huts like cowards not knowing how to deal with the situation. It was so bad that the women had to attempt to save the crops as best they could while their men were hiding out. Another problem is that occasionally wild animals would come in from the edge of the jungle and wreak havoc on the town. Also every once in a while the alpha would come back and rob the betas while they were caught off guard and sleep with their lady friends while they were absent. The betas reasoned that they could join together again to thwart him but by the time they could get a plan together he was gone and the damage had already been done.

One beta in particular was deeply concerned about the future of his little island society. He was also very hurt by the fact that his lady friend didn’t at all reciprocate the love that he had for her. One day he trotted off into the jungle and didn’t come back for well over a month. While he was there he had time to be away from society and reason through the problems that were facing it. One night, as he was sitting by a fire he had made, he began as he usually did to contemplate and reflect. This night though, the pain of his rejection and the fear of destruction were more acute than they had ever been. While he sat there deep in thought the creatures in the jungle were making a cacophony of night sounds. In this moment their rhythm spoke to him and as he stared into the beautiful mesmerizing flames. At that point something changed in him. He stood up, ripped off his garment, and began howling at the moon like a wild beast. The next morning he awoke hungry, as he had not brought any food with him into the jungle. He got up, found a long piece of wood, and crafted a spear out of it. He spent the next several days hungrily tracking wild game. He finally managed to slay a wild boar with the spear he had fashioned. He dragged the corpse back to his campsite, gutted the carcass, and then smeared some of the blood on his forehead. He cooked the meat over the flames and enjoyed a delicious meal.

When he finally emerged from the jungle and returned to the little society, he was a changed man. He now had the strength to rule and the wisdom to guide his society into the future. He drew council with the other three betas and explained to them the transformation he had undergone. He showed them the spear and the skull of the boar he had slain. They were all taken aback and really thoroughly impressed. They also noticed that he had an assured tone in his voice and that he was able to speak persuasively. They saw in him the steadiness and fearlessness they knew they would need to save their society. After a few hours in their meeting the three betas emerged from the tent and announced to the women that the once beta would now be called leader. Leader then emerged from the tent and they put a rudimentary crown made of sticks on his head to symbolize his new authority. From that day forward not only was the society run in an orderly and harmonious fashion but leader with his new found strength was able to act in times of crises to avert danger. The alpha from the other side of the island tried to come back and cause trouble once, but he was soundly defeated by leader. The other three betas found inspiration through their leader and to a certain degree he imputed his essence on them. The women were now fully content and happy, especially leader’s lady friend, as she had nothing but the utmost adoration for him. The society flourished and grew and the island was transformed from a jungle into a fruitful tropical garden. A place anyone would be lucky to visit.