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Nietzsche and his Zarathustra: A Western Poet's Transformation of an Eastern Priest and Prophet

Nietzsche and his Zarathustra: A Western Poet's Transformation of an Eastern Priest and Prophet 335 Nietzsche and h is Zarathu stra © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden ZRGG 55, 4 (2003) Also available online - www.brill.nl DAVID AIKEN Nietzsche and his Zarathustra A Western P oet’s Transformation of an Eastern Priest and Prophet Friedrich Nietzsche wrote Also sprach Zarathustra between 1883-1885. That his choice for a new voice ‘to cry in the wilderness’ sh ould fall on the Persian prophet Zoroaster (6 28-551B.C.E.), is, to say the least, cu- rious. For while in other texts Nietzsche openly states that he was in- spired, or intellectually m entored, by the Presocratic Heraclitus and Emp edocles, 1 it is not immediately evident fro m any of his own writ- ings, or fro m the writings of those who have studied Nietzsche, that Nietzsche was likewise inspired either by the historical Zoroaster, or by the religious teachings particular to the Zoroastorian Persians, or by the ‘mythological’ toile de fond of Mazdean metaphysics. Nor does his storification of Zarathustra in Also sprach Za rathustra indicate any- thing more than a very cursory knowledge of, or interest in, the Persian Prophet’s religion. Of the Zend Avesta there is no indication that Ni- etzsche had any particular knowledge. 2 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte Brill

Nietzsche and his Zarathustra: A Western Poet's Transformation of an Eastern Priest and Prophet

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2003 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0044-3441
eISSN
1570-0739
DOI
10.1163/157007303770479785
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

335 Nietzsche and h is Zarathu stra © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden ZRGG 55, 4 (2003) Also available online - www.brill.nl DAVID AIKEN Nietzsche and his Zarathustra A Western P oet’s Transformation of an Eastern Priest and Prophet Friedrich Nietzsche wrote Also sprach Zarathustra between 1883-1885. That his choice for a new voice ‘to cry in the wilderness’ sh ould fall on the Persian prophet Zoroaster (6 28-551B.C.E.), is, to say the least, cu- rious. For while in other texts Nietzsche openly states that he was in- spired, or intellectually m entored, by the Presocratic Heraclitus and Emp edocles, 1 it is not immediately evident fro m any of his own writ- ings, or fro m the writings of those who have studied Nietzsche, that Nietzsche was likewise inspired either by the historical Zoroaster, or by the religious teachings particular to the Zoroastorian Persians, or by the ‘mythological’ toile de fond of Mazdean metaphysics. Nor does his storification of Zarathustra in Also sprach Za rathustra indicate any- thing more than a very cursory knowledge of, or interest in, the Persian Prophet’s religion. Of the Zend Avesta there is no indication that Ni- etzsche had any particular knowledge. 2

Journal

Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2003

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