Empedokles in Nietzsches Dramenentwürfen

Abstract

Empedocles in the Face of Mythological Deities. A Reading of Nietzsche’s Dramatic Drafts. This article examines Nietzsche’s interest in Empedocles. Less prominent in Nietzsche’s thought than other pre-Socratic philosophers, Empedocles is difficult to classify. He is characterized by his tensions and ambivalence. By examining Nietzsche’s various drafts for a drama about the death of the philosopher from Agrigento, I will show how philological studies combine with Nietzsche’s philosophical thinking to question Empedocles’ ambivalence toward mythological divinities. Art of staging, excessive desire for knowledge, expression of disgust with existence, recognition of the true measure of the living: the death of Empedocles is as ambiguous for Nietzsche as his conception of nature, torn between wonder, demystification and poetic fervor.