Aryan, German, or Greek? Nietzsche's Prometheus between antiquity and modernity

Abstract

This article explores Friedrich Nietzsche’s reception of the ancient Greek mythical figure Prometheus as a window onto the philosopher’s changing notions regarding antiquity. In the first instance it will examine the sources of the myth, both ancient and modern, in order to assess how Nietzsche’s appropriation fits into the broader history of Promethean receptions. It will then turn to two of Nietzsche’s main philosophical works, The Birth of Tragedy (1872) and The Gay Science (1882). By closely analysing the texture of Nietzsche’s Prometheus in these works this article will demonstrate that Nietzsche initially used the Titan as a marker of the relationship between ancient Greece and modern Germany and of the potential for a shared identity that might link them. In addition to this it becomes clear that Nietzsche’s conception of the Titan changed dramatically between the two works as well as afterwards, and this article will argue that these changes are key to understanding Nietzsche’s evolving attitude to the relationship between antiquity and modernity.