Book Description

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 new 2024 translation from the original German, Latin and Greek manuscript contains a new Afterword by the translator, a timeline of Nietzsche's life and works, an index with descriptions of his core concepts and summaries of his complete body of works. This translation is designed to allow the armchair philosopher to engage deeply with Nietzsche's works without having to be a full-time Academic. The language is modern and clean, with simplified sentence structures and diction to make Nietzsche's complex language and arguments as accessible as possible. This Reader's Edition also contains extra material that amplifies the manuscript with autobiographical, historical and linguistic context. This provides the reader a holistic view of this very enigmatic philosopher as both an introduction and an exploration of Nietzsche's works; from his general understanding of his philosophic project to an exploration of the depths of his metaphysics and unique contributions. This edition contains: • An Afterword by the Translator on the history, impact and intellectual legacy of Nietzsche • Translation notes on the original German manuscript • An index of Philosophical concepts used by Nietzsche with a focus on Existentialism and Phenomenology • A complete chronological list of Nietzsche's entire body of works • A detailed timeline of Nietzsche's life journey