Nietzsche's short work, Homer's Contest, is part of his attempt to develop an axiology that reintegrates morality into the realm of aesthetic existence, in founding noble ideas like “good” and “evil”. in a naturalistic setting. In this essay, he offers an interpretation of the structure through which Homeric values ​​are expressed. Protest, Nietzsche tells us, is a typically Greek phenomenon which simply postulates that “all talent must develop through a struggle” (Nietzsche, 98). By studying the struggle that underlies Homer's worldview, Nietzsche discovers a search for goals and ends that value human life, even in light of exceptional struggle. Nietzsche's project in this work could be described as selfish in the sense that he hopes to reestablish what is in his eyes a valid framework while fundamentally changing its ends. Yet his assessment of Homer's project offers useful insight into understanding the fragile nature of the return to the sources toward which Odysseus so desperately strives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The concept of contest is useful both in approaching an interpretation of Homer's overall values ​​and in interpreting the actions of the Odyssey's major protagonist, Odysseus. Whether or not Homer wrote the Odyssey himself, he was certainly engaged in an artistic project. Such projects, Nietzsche explains, represented for the Greeks an effort of opposition: "modern man fears nothing in an artist like personal belligerence, while the Greek only knows the artist in his personal struggle" (Nietzsche , 99). Homer's personal struggle was therefore an effort to make sense of an existence marked by war and conflict. If we apply Nietzsche's understanding of Homer's project - an effort undertaken to oppose a purely repugnant view of life on earth - the Odyssey presents us with Homer's assertion that life is worth living. 'be experienced. Although ephemeral and fragile, the return home is something that Ulysses is moving towards. ready to travel despite the obvious dangers. He is a decorated hero of horrific battles and yet even the return he heads towards throughout the Odyssey is seen as fleeting. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld, the insightful prophet Tiresias foreshadows Odysseus's continued wanderings. Death is destined to come to him “at sea” after a journey that takes him far from home (Odyssey, XI, 134 & XI, 119-121). Yet he is willing to oppose even the goddess Kalypso in her wish to have him as her eternal lover. Kalypso is surprised to discover him crying at the edge of the vast and infinite sea, where “sweet life flowed from him / as he cried to return home” (Odyssey, V, 152-153). Faced with the infinity of life and existence, the mortal Odysseus mourns the loss of his essence as an existing and struggling individual. Nietzsche provides a useful context in which to place Odysseus' misery. Each Greek, he said, "felt within himself the burning desire to be an instrument for bringing salvation to his city...For this reason, the individuals of antiquity were freer, because their goals were nearer and more easy to reach” (Nietzsche, 98). ). Odysseus's palpable goal of returning home is a source of comfort in the wake of an ever-changing world filled with struggle. The mortal Odysseus is not fit for eternity alongside an immortal companion. His choices carry a gravity and consequences that an immortal cannot comprehend. Indeed, Kalypso wonders how Odysseus could have yearned so deeply for his return, : «., 2006.