# Homer — The Genealogy of Morals character guide

> Homer in The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0011-first-essay

## Who they are

Epic poet whose works illustrate the noble morality of ancient Greece.

## Relationships

### [the Greeks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/the_greeks)

_friendship_

Homer embodies the noble, life-affirming Greek spirit that Nietzsche celebrates as the antithesis of modern morality.

### [Goethe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/goethe)

_friendship_

Goethe admired Homer's heroic, life-affirming worldview, which Nietzsche contrasts with German pessimism.

## In the story

### [The Morality of Resentment and the Beast of Prey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/11)

The Homeric heroes are cited as examples of aristocratic races that share the need to let the beast of prey loose, and the Homeric world is contrasted with the bronze age in Hesiod's schema.

### [14](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/14)

Quoted for the phrase 'sweeter than honey' regarding revenge.

### [Chapter 7: Cruelty, Suffering, and the Theatricality of Existence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/7)

Cited as depicting gods who delight in the cruel spectacles of human fate, such as the Trojan War.

### [The Greek Gods as Buffers Against Bad Conscience](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/23)

Homer is cited as the source of the anecdote about Zeus commenting on human folly, illustrating the Greek attitude toward divine judgment.

### [Separating the Artist from the Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/4)

Used as an example: Homer would not have created Achilles if he had been an Achilles.

### [Chapter 25: Science and the Ascetic Ideal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/25)

Contrasted with Plato as the involuntary panegyrist of life, representing the natural opposition to the ascetic ideal.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/homer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters