дионисический

[paul-s.livejournal.com]

What does the word дионисический mean?

Edit:  Am I right in thinking that стихия can mean chaos?  My dictionary doesn't have it in but I remember seeing it somewhere.  My sentence is this: 'two opposing sources formed the Russian soul: природная, языческая, дионисическая стихия'.  Given the adjectives, chaos seems better than elements.

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

Yes, стихия can indeed mean chaos. Стихия is element or elements (as in the four elements: water, wind etc.), but it also can mean nature and primeval chaos as opposed to man-created order.