Glossary of Terms
Adder: a poisonous snake
Apollonian: the elements of the world that deal with order, reason, harmony, culture, and restraint. It is the opposite of Dionysian
Apostate: a person who forsakes his religion or teaching
Chastity: refraining from sex in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment
Dionysian: the elements of the world that deal with confusion, chaos, and sensuous behavior. This is the opposite of Apollonian.
Disciple: a student
Eternal return: the understanding that everything that has happened will happen again
God-is-dead: the philosophical idea that the institutions of Christianity no longer hold power over humanity
Mount of Olives: the biblical location of Jesus' arrest by the Roman authorities the night before his execution
Nihilism: the philosophy that nothing has meaning; the belief in nothing
Overman: Zarathustra's vision of the ideal human being. "Overman" can also be translated as "Superhuman" or "Superman"
Pity: the state of humanity that always seeks to lower itself instead of raising itself to self-awareness
Platonism: a philosophical school of thought based on the philosophy of Plato
Prudence: discretion in regards to practical matters
Rabble: the lower classes of society
Socratic Method: a method of learning in which the teacher questions a student in order to get him or her to work out the correct answer
Soothsayer: a prophet or fortune teller
Sublime: a state of happiness or unawareness
Tarantula: a poisonous spider
Will to Power: Nietzsche's philosophical term describing mankind's will to self-awareness
ClassicNote on Thus Spoke Zarathustra
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