Art, literature & culture

Publication of Thus Spoke Zarathustra

1885

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a philosophical work by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in a poetic, biblical style in several parts between the early and mid-1880s. It follows a fictional prophet, Zarathustra, modelled on the Persian religious figure Zoroaster, who descends from his mountain to teach humanity. The book introduces some of Nietzsche's best-known ideas: the announcement that God is dead, the Ubermensch, or overman, a figure who creates his own values, and the thought of eternal recurrence. Its style is deliberately allusive and often ambiguous, so it has been interpreted in many ways. It influenced philosophy, literature and music, notably the tone poem by Richard Strauss.

Open on the timeline

Before and after

More in Art, literature & culture

The era

This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.