Everything which comes to the surface in the Apollonian part of Greek tragedy，in the dialogue，looks simple，translucent，beautiful.In this sense the dialogue is an image of the Greek man，whose nature reveals itself in dancing，because in dancing the greatest power is only latent，but it betrays its presence in the lithe and rich movement.Thus，the language of the heroes in Sophocles surprises us by its Apollonian clarity and brightness，so that we immediately imagine that we are glimpsing the innermost basis of their being，with some astorushment that the path to this foundation is so short.

　　However，once we look away from the character of the hero as it surfaces and becomes perceptible-a character who is basically nothing more than a light picture cast onto a dark wall，that is，an illusion through and through-we penetrate instead into the myth which projects itself in this bright reflection.At that point we suddenly experience a phenomenon which is the reverse of a well-known optical one.When we make a determined attempt to look directly at the sun and turn away blinded，we have dark-coloured specks in front of our eyes，like a remedy，as it were.Those illuminated illusory pictures of the Sophoclean hero，briefly put，the Apollonian mask，are the reverse of that，necessary creations of a glimpse into the inner terror of nature，bright spots，so to speak，to heal us from the horrifying night of the crippled gaze.Only in this sense can we think of correctly grasping the serious and significant idea of"Greek serenity";whereas，nowadays we certainly come across the undoubtedly nusconceived idea that this serenity is a condition of secure contentment on all the pathways and bridges of the present.

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