Culture is often superimposed on one another and not everyone understands what happened before and what comes later. Those who are passionate about the work of Friedrich Nietzsche are not particularly aware of the prophet, whose name he used to write his story about Zarathustra.
Real person
Zarathustra, despite the meager amount of evidence of his existence, is considered a real person. Zarathustra is the founder of Zoroastrianism. It is this person who is credited with the authorship of 17 hymns of "Chants" ("Ghats").
The meaning of the name of the prophet is still the subject of much debate. So, there is a version according to which the name translates as "he who drives camels." However, A. Duperron offers his own version of the translation. For him, Zarathustra is the “golden Sirius”.
As with the translation of the name, scholars have many discrepancies regarding the place and time of the prophet's life. Some consider him the son of a merchant, others associate his origin with a poor Eastern Iranian family. There is even a bold assumption that he was born in the territory of the modern Russian Federation. Although there is no evidence for this hypothesis.
The Legend of Zarathustra
According to one of the famous legends, the prophet was born the third child in a family with five children. From the age of 15 he became a clergyman, and five years later he left his home to find the truth.
At 30, he met with the main deity of the triad of Iranian gods. Ahura Mazda asked Zarathustra several questions, after which he took him to heaven. There the prophet passed three trials, after which the truth was revealed to him.
Going down, he did not receive support among close people, except for his brother. He had to leave his native places, but thanks to the local king, Zoroastrianism spread throughout Iran.
Zarathustra is a prophet. By the age of 42, he became an adviser to this king. All his sayings were written on cowhide. His creations, including poetry, were damaged by the burning of the library during the time of Alexander the Great.
The sage lived 77 years and 40 days. Knowing that he would die a violent death, he spent the last 40 days in prayer. Being married twice for life, he left behind six children.
About Friedrich Nietzsche
“So said Zarathustra” is the most significant work of the philosopher, who put all his judgments about life and man into it.
Talking about the work of Friedrich Nietzsche is quite difficult. This is due to the fact that not everyone has the strength and time to read his confused texts in full. Therefore, many rely on the judgments of others about the meaning of his works.
It was precisely because of this that the myth appeared that the philosophical views of F. Nietzsche were connected with fascism and Nazism. This was also facilitated by his sister, a bright adherent of A. Hitler.
On this occasion, the Strugatsky perfectly spoke out: “Nietzsche. It was a great poet. However, he was very unlucky with the fans. ”
The German philosopher and poet was born in 1844 in the family of a Lutheran priest in the third generation. He was named by Frederick William in honor of the Prussian king, who ruled at that time.
At universities, he delved into ancient classics. In 1869, he occupied the Department of Classical Philosophy at the University of Switzerland. However, during the Franco-Prussian war he enlisted as a private orderly in the Prussian army (1870). Having undermined his health, Friedrich returned to a Swiss university.
Among the friends of the philosopher there were many famous personalities, among whom was R. Wagner. He had a great influence on his work. The philosopher dedicated the fourth part of “Incomplete Reflections” to him.
The poet died in 1900 in the family a year after a severe mental seizure. So Friedrich Nietzsche left. Zarathustra as his hero and image continues to live.
“So said Zarathustra”
One of the most famous works of Friedrich Nietzsche, “So Said Zarathustra, ” was written in 1883-1885. This particular narrative cannot be summarized or retold. The subtitle sounds even paradoxically - "The book is for everyone and not for anyone."
The book does not apply to treatises. It is rather a philosophical poem, although written in prose. In order to understand this, you must read the work in German. In the original, a certain rhythm is inherent in him, which confirms that Nietzsche is more a poet than a philosopher, much less a scientist.
The plot of the work is that thirty-year-old Zarathustra (Nietzsche) leaves his homeland and goes into the mountains. He enjoys being alone. Ten years later, he was fed up with his wisdom and decided to go down to the people. On the way, he meets an old man who persuades the sage to stay in the forest. But he hears in response the words that Zarathustra loves people. However, the more significant phrase of the young man is "that God died."
In the work “So Said Zarathustra, ” the hero communicates with different people. The parables that he tells in terms of content relate to different directions:
- moral;
- psychological;
- philosophical.
Nietzsche knew that many would not understand his theory of the superman, so after this work, he released two more: “On the Other Side of Good and Evil”, “Towards the Genealogy of Morality”. Their goal was to protect the idea from misunderstanding, to clarify its meaning.
About the "three transformations of the spirit"
The most significant in the work is the story of the transformations of the spirit.
According to the sage, the spirit of man must go through three transformations. First, the spirit becomes a camel, because it wants to experience the burden of its own burden. Then he strives to become a lion in order to gain freedom and become a master. But realizing that he will not be able to enjoy freedom, the spirit strives for complete renewal. This is possible when turning into a child.
About women
Met with an old woman, Zarathustra speaks with her about women. He assigns them an important role, namely, to bring the superman to the world. Their only happiness should be understanding what the man wants. Only then will the world be perfect.
In order to remain desirable, a woman must be a dangerous game for a man. Because they want only two things in life - danger and play. Women remain a mystery to the hero, however, “there is one solution to all this: she is called pregnancy.”
