# Gods — Beyond Good and Evil character guide > Gods in Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche. **Role:** minor **Also known as:** Gods **First appearance:** 0002-i-prejudices-of-philosophers ## Who they are Divine figures from various mythologies, referenced in philosophical and historical contexts. ## Relationships ### [The Learned Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/characters/the_learned_man) _psychological_ The learned man's relationship to gods is analyzed as a symptom of philosophical and psychological needs. ### [The Learned Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/characters/the_learned_man) _psychological_ The learned man's relationship to gods is analyzed as a symptom of philosophical and psychological needs. ## In the story ### [II: The Free Spirit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/ii-the-free-spirit) Mentioned indirectly as part of a list of entities ('God, devil, sheep, and worm') for which the free spirit is grateful, representing forces of liberation from rules and prejudices. ### [49](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/49) Implied as the recipients of the ancient Greeks' grateful religious attitude. ### [IV: Apophthegms and Interludes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/iv-apophthegms-and-interludes) Mentioned in aphorisms 65A, 66, 80, 101, 121, and 150, often to critique religious concepts or to use 'God' as a metaphorical figure for human extremes. ### [65A](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/65a) The subject of the dishonorable treatment; their nature is constrained by human morality, denied the attribute of sin. ### [The Godlike Diffidence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/66) Implied as the standard for a being so secure it can permit exploitation without loss of self-worth. ### [Chapter 80](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/80) Referenced as the source of the Delphic advice 'Know thyself'; the narrator interrogates the god's possible hidden meaning. ### [121](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/121) Referenced ironically as an author who 'learned Greek' to write scripture, but allegedly did not master it. ### [Chapter 150](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/150) Referenced as the ultimate perspective around which reality becomes an ambiguous, perhaps totalizing 'world'. ### [Chapter 218](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/218) The spectacle of the rule's instinctive struggle against the exception is described as fit for 'Gods and godlike malignity.' ### [238](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/238) Mentioned indirectly via reference to the 'time of Pericles,' a period of Athenian cultural height associated with its gods and mythology. ### [Two Kinds of Geniuses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/248) Referenced indirectly in the phrase 'by the grace of God,' which describes the empowered consciousness of the generative type. ### [IX: What Is Noble?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/ix-what-is-noble) Mentioned indirectly in the context of ancestors who sacrificed privileges to live wholly for their faith or 'God,' highlighting a type of noble conscience. ### [Master-Morality and Slave-Morality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/260) Referenced indirectly via 'Wotan' in an old Scandinavian Saga, which is quoted to illustrate the noble, hard-hearted disposition prized in master-morality. ### [The Rise and Fall of Aristocratic Morality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/262) Mentioned as one of the forces the aristocratic species has struggled against and prevailed over in its formation. ### [The Olympian Vice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/294) Speculated to philosophize and laugh in an 'overman-like and new fashion,' finding amusement even in holy matters, which suggests a perspective beyond human moral seriousness. ### [The Genius of the Heart: Dionysus as Philosopher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/295) Represented by Dionysus, who is presented as a philosophizing deity lacking human shame and conventional morality, suggesting gods could learn 'more human' traits from men. ### [From the Heights](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/from-the-heights) Mentioned as one of the concepts the speaker has 'unlearned' during his solitary dwelling in the realm of ice, indicating a rejection of traditional religious frameworks. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/characters/gods - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/characters