Nietzsche's Response To Homer

Although in the early period of his life Nietzsche's attitude towards Homer was limited to a pure admiration, it later grew into a sort of a contest (Acampora, 25). For Nietzsche Homer was the first who questioned and reevaluated Greek culture and a human life. Through doing this Homer gave way to further reevaluations, which Nietzsche himself is engaged in. As well as Homer creates new values built upon a pursuit of glory; Nietzsche's system of values is concentrated on the concept of the eternal recurrence and transfiguration (26). Thus Homerian heroes serve as a basis for Nietzsche's characters and "Zarathustra becomes the Nietzschean replacement for the Homeric heroes"(40). Nevertheless, Nietzsche's response to Homer was not in the creation

Zarathustra presents an overman or an Übermensch (Germ.) as a goal of the humanity, a condition, which can be achieved only through overcoming oneself or suffering. Nietzsche's overman is the one who creates his own values, which ties this concept to nihilism and the denial of God. In the chapter "On The Three Transformations" Zarathustra claims that the stage of an overman, which is the highest in the human evolution, is a stage of a "child" or the third metamorphosis. In order to achieve this stage one has to go through the first two stages, which are a "camel" and a "lion"(Nietzsche, 23). The first stage, on which the mediocre mass is still standing, is a state of a "weight-bearing spirit"(23). Its weight is a burden of the commonly held values and societal judgment, which a "camel" is not able to disobey. The disobedience is a feature of the second transformation, in which a human who no longer accepts the existing system of beliefs can call himself a "lion". The Zarathustra main advancement over Achilles lies in the different stages they are standing on. Zarathustra, being an overman personifies the final metamorphosis, while Achilles is still going through the phase of a

The answer to the first question lies in the revolutionary nature of Achilles. According to Nietzsche the main distinctive feature of a "lion" is an ability to oppose the existing social norms: "To create new values—that, even the lion cannot yet accomplish: but to create itself freedom for new creating—that can the might of the lion do. To create itself freedom, and give a holy Nay even unto duty: for that, my brethren, there is need of the lion. To assume the ride to new values—that is the most formidable assumption for a load-bearing and reverent spirit. Verily, unto such a spirit it is preying, and the work of a beast of prey”(24). In the same way, Achilles constantly challenges the existing authorities and acts in discordance with the expectations of the society. The poem starts with the Achilles' rage caused by his conflict with Agamemnon. Achilles is the only one who enters into an argument with the authority, personified by Agamemnon and makes him a daring proposal - to give up Chryseis in response to the Apollo's request. His boldness and willingness to confront the superior is further expressed in his impulse to kill Agamemnon. Another unexpected action Agamemnon undertakes is his decision to not go to war, as he