Homer's Contest: A New Reader's Edition
May 2024 · The Collected Works of Friedrich Nietzsche Book 18 · Marchen Press
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About this ebook
Homer's Contest is a manuscript drafted by Nietzsche, but only published by his estate after he died. It was dated 1872 and was first published in 1901 under the title "Nachgelassene Fragmente" by his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, along with other scholars. It was then re-published in various formats after that; including in a series titled "Gesammelte Werke" (Collected Works), later reorganized and expanded into the "Gesamtausgabe" (Complete Edition), which included comprehensive collections of Nietzsche's notebooks and other writings from various periods of his life. Here Nietzsche postulates that the heights of human potential, including our capacity for cruelty, are as natural as any of our more laudable traits and essential to the development of what we call "humanity". He states that the Greeks exhibited profound cruelty, a trait vividly personified in historical figures such as Alexander the Great and in mythological narratives. The essay emphasizes that such cruel impulses were not anomalies but fundamental to the Greek character and essential to their cultural achievements, as evidenced by their mythology and historical actions such as the treatment of conquered cities and the iconography in Greek art, which often depicted scenes of intense violence and struggle. He then moves backwards to the origins of Hellenic culture in the "pre-Homeric" world, which is portrayed as even more savage and unfathomable, which is embodied in the Homeric epics. The transformation suggests a sublimation of direct violence into artistic and cultural competition that nevertheless retained an element of the earlier harshness. Nietzsche continues his early 1870 work "The Florentine Treatise on Homer and Hesiod" here in Homer's Contest and emphasizes the distinction introduced in Hesiod's works between two types of the goddess Eris (strife), symbolizing the dual nature of competition: one destructive and one constructive. This is a development towards his meta-psychological archetypal concept of the apollonian and dionysian. He argues that Greek society viewed both types of strife as essential, with the positive aspect driving social progress through competition and excellence. This contrast creates the beauty of Greek aesthetics. This Critical Reader's Edition offers a modern translation of the original manuscript, designed to help the armchair philosopher engage deeply with Nietzsche's works. The translation features clean, contemporary language with simplified sentence structures and diction, making Nietzsche's complex ideas more accessible. In addition to the main text, this edition includes extensive supplementary material that enhances the manuscript with autobiographical, historical, and linguistic context. It contains an afterword by the translator examining the history, impact, and intellectual legacy of Nietzsche in relation to this work, an index of philosophical concepts with emphasis on Existentialism and Phenomenology, a complete chronological list of Nietzsche's published writings, and a detailed timeline of his life, highlighting the personal relationships that significantly shaped his philosophy.
About the author
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a watershed German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, musician (briefly) and philologist (the study of ancient manuscripts) whose work has had a profound impact on modern intellectual history. Known for his critiques of European morality and religion (particularly Protestantism), Nietzsche's ideas on the "will to power" and the "Übermensch" have influenced a wide range of philosophical, literary, and psychological thought including thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Michael Foucault and the entire Postmodern religion.
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