DAVID S.

THATCHER, UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

EAGLE AND SERPENT IN ZARATHUSTRA

Readers of Also sprach Zarathustra cannot but be aware of the exten-

sive use which Nietzsche makes of the animal worid; nö exegesis of the
work would be complete without some detailed account of what might
be termed its "bestiary aspect," the obsessive preoccupation, it is no less
than that, with such creatures äs the Hon, the camel, the donkey, the ape,
the dog, the sheep and various species of birds, reptiles, fish and insects.
In his study of "Zarathustra und der Esel," Jörg Salaquarda observes:
"Die anderen 'Tiere' hat [Nietzsche] nach der einstimmigen Interpretation
aller, die sich ernsthaft damit beschäftigt haben, primär für menschliche
Eigenschaften und Verhaltensweisen eingesetzt, die sich auf Triebe oder
Triebkomplexe zurückführen lassen/'1 Angele Marietti, in a discüssion of
Nietzsche's "bestiare poetique," typifies this approadi:
C'est dans la faune que se tient la source de toutes les vertus humaines et
c'est pourquoi Zarathoustra parle aux hommes par l'intermediare des
images emprunt£es a la connaissance des betes saüvages. En diaque
homme se retrouve la ruse du serpent, la fierti de l'aigle, la force dtf
lion, parfois la lourdeur de Pelephant et Tinnocence de Fagneau. Le
bestiare poetique de Nietzsche certifie Pautheiitic^ de Pexperience de
Zarathoustra: son experience humaine l'a reccxnduit a consid rer les
animaux varies dont rhomme s'est inspire primitivement, en spirituali-
sant et humanisant leurs vertus sauvages.2
Despite its many valuable insights Marietti's analysis does not satisf actorily
explain the special Status accorded to the eagle aiid the serpent, the precise
significance of their friendship or the compelling imaginative power with
whidi they are portrayed.
Eagle and serpent are explicitly identified äs Zarathüstra's diosen
companions in the initial "Vorrede" of the book, and allusions tö theim bulk
large within the framework of the animal imagery äs a whole. Long
familiarity with them has, perhaps, led us to take them for granted, and we
may hardly pause to consider that, even f or an eccentric hermit, they
constitute a somewhat odd and curiously mismatdied pair of semi-domesti-

1
Theologia Viatomm, XI (1973), 181—213.
2
"La Vertu de la Parole^ La Revue de Lettres Modernes, IV (1957), 132.
 Eagle &nd Scrpent in Zarathustra 241

cated creatures. We may wonder why they are given such a prominent role
in. the narrätive, especially in the final Book. Clearly, they serve to provide
Zarathustra with an audience or sounding-board and help, by their ubi-
quitous presence, to establish a connecting link between the four parts. But
what, we might want to ask, is the exact nature of their function, their
Status, their inter-relationship, their symbolical or allegorical significance?
How do they assist us to löcate and define Zarathustra himself — his
character, his mission and his message? Such questions might best be an-
swered by ascertaining äs fully äs possible what Nietzsche knew of the
traditional ideas about the eagle and the serpent, both separately and to-
gether, and by examining how he adopted, modified, inverted or rejected
sudi ideas. Mudi legendary material would have been familiär to him from
his reading of classical texts and commentaries and from various works
deaiing with folklore, mythology, religion, an history and iconography,
works which he either possessed or had borrowed from the University
Librar>r during his period at Basel.
In the mythology and art of many ancient peoples the eagle and the
serpent often appear in conjunction and are invariably represented äs
i mplacably hostile to one another:
Hghts between cagles and snakes have actually been observed, and it
is easy to understand that the sight of such a struggle must have made
an indelible Impression upon human imagination in its infancy. The
most powerful of birds was fighting the most dangerous of reptiles. The
greatness of the combat gave the event an almost cosmic significance.
Ever since, when man has tried to express a struggle or a victory of
cosmic grandeur, the early memory of this event has been evoked*3
In the Babylonian myth of Etana, the eagle is overpowered by the snake
of night, but is rescued by the hero Etana whom the bird then carries up to
heaven on his wings. In Indian lore, there is emnity between the sacred bird
of Vishnu, Garuda (or Suparna), and the snake Naga: "Garuda may be
compared with the magic Roc of Oriental mythology» which was also the
mortal enemy of serpcnts; with the great bird Voc of Central American
mythology * . « and with the Egyptian hawk-headed Horus who waged
war on serpents.*** Norse legend teils of the World-Ash, Yggdrasil, with a
white eagle perdhed on its topmost brandies and a Cosmic Serpent gnawing
at die root. In the Iliad (XII, 201 ff.) an eagle with a snake in its beak
appcars overhead a$ the Trojans attack the Greek ships — the snake man-
ages to free itself and falls among the Trojan soldiers, who Interpret the

* Rudolf Wmkow*r, *EagJe and &rpeni! A Study in the Migration of Symbol^"

4
Journtlof tte WaibufgJmtitui*. (1938—1939), 293,
M. Oldficld Howcy, Tht Zncirdtd Serpcnt {New York, 19*5), p, 49.
242 David S. Thatcher

event äs a bad omen. Sophoclcs uses the fight of the eagle and the serpent
to compare warring armies (Antigone, 11.110 ff.)> and Horace (in Book IV
of the fourth Ode) follows his example. Aristotle (Historia Animalium,
Book IX) refers to the emnity of eagle and serpent äs a matter of scientific
fact, and Aesop uses the theme in his fahles.5 In early Christianity the
victory of the eagle over the snake was allegorised äs the victory of Christ
over Satan, and "eagle and snake or bird and monster survive in the books
of dreams of the Middle Ages."6 The motif occurs, in various guises,
throughout Western literature, particularly in the Romantic period,7 In
Italian it has even adiieved proverbial Status: "L'aquila combatte sempre
coi serpenti."
In Zarathustra there is a radical, but hitherto unexplained, departure
from this tradition. Eagle and serpent are presented at the very beginning,
in Zarathustra's apostrophe to the sun: "Zehn Jahre kamst du hier herauf
zu meiner Höhle: du würdest deines Lichtes und dieses Weges satt gewor-
den sein, ohne mich, meinen Adler und meine Schlange" (SA II, p. 277). For
ten years, then, they have been his loyal and constant companions —
incomparable, irreplaceable and, strangely for two creatures solitary by
nature, inseparable. They are his patient and attentive interlocutors, of-
f ering him consolation and af fection. They support him when he is sick and
bring him food and drink. When he catdies sight of them pne noontide his
heart is lifted, for they augur well. Büt they also remind him of his
prophetic mission and of its difficulty:
"Es sind meine Tiere!" sagte Zarathustra und freute sidi von Herzen.
"Das stolzeste Tier unter der Sonne und das klügste Tier unter der
Sonne — sie sind ausgezogen auf Kundsdiaft. Erkunden wollen sie, ob
Zarathustra nodi lebe. Wahrlich, lebe idi nodi? Gefährlicher fand idi's
unter Mensdien als unter Tieren, gefährliche Wege geht Zarathustra.
Mögen midi meine Tiere führen!" Als Zarathustra dies gesagt hatte,
gedadite er der Worte des Heiligen im Walde, seufzte und spradi also
zu seinem Herzen: "Mödite ich klüger sein! Möchte ich klug von Grund
aus sein, gleich meiner Sdilaiige! Aber Unmögliches bitte ich da: so bitte
idi denn meinen Stolz, daß er immer mit meiner Klugheit gehe! Und

5
For these and other detailed references see D'Arcy W. Thompsorij A Glossary of
Greek Birds (London, 1936), p. 5.
6
Wittkower, p. 308. Note, however, that in the Old Testament book of Psalms (xxx,
8—19) both creatures are objects of awe: *There be three things which are too
wonderful for me, yea, four whidi know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the
way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; ,and the
way of a man with a maid."
7
Cf. Lura Nancy Pedrini and Duilio T. Pedrini, Serpent Imagery and Symbolism
(New Haven, Conn., 1966), passim. .
 Eagle and Serpent in Zarathustra 243

wenn mich einst meine Klugheit verläßt — ach, sie liebt es, davonzu-
fliegen! — möge mein Stolz dann noch mit meiner Torheit fliegen!"8
He trusts in them to give encouragement and advice, to help him perform
the heroic tasks which, without their aid, he would find it difficult to
accomplish. In their capacity äs tutelary spirits or guardians, they stand
in the same relation to him äs Poseidon to Theseus, Athena to Perseus or
Cheiron to Achilles. As a hermit Zarathustra has an entitlement to what
he calls his "Ehrentiere*: "Die Liebe zu den Tieren — zu allen Zeiten hat
man die Einsiedler daran erkannt* (GA XIV, p. 417). After all, the
evangelists, the churdi fathers and the medievai anchorites had their
symbolic animals. St. John's eagie was an enemy of serpents, but Zarathu-
stra's eagle and serpent are at peace with eadi other: "Und siehe! Ein
Adler zog in weiten Kreisen durch die Luft, und an ihm hing eine Schlange,
nicht einer Beute gleich, sondern einer Freundin: denn sie hielt sich um sei-
nen Hals geringelt* (SA II, p* 290). This is an unequivocal rejection of
traditional ideas, a deliberate reversal of an incident in one of the major
sources for Zarathustra> Gobineau's Histoire des Perses:
Le roi Djem £tait un jour assis dans un pavillon, assistant aux exercises
de ses archers, quand apparut dans le ciel un grand oiseau qui fuyait
tire-d'ailes sans pouvoir se dibarasser de Pentreime d'un serpent enrould
autour de son cou. C'atait un spectacle insupportable pour Poeil d'un
Arian> car les oiseaux appartiennent a la Bonne C^ation, tandis que
les reptiles sont le produit de la Mauvaise.9
From his reading of such authorities äs Georg Friedrich Creuzer, Nietzsche
had learnt that Zoroastrianism is based on the conflict between the divine
source of light and goodness, Ormuzd the eagle, and the satanic source of
darkness and evil, Ahriman the dragon.10 What, then, was his purpose in
$
SA 1I> pp. 290—291. I take the final comment to mcan that Zarathustra needs both
animols cqually.
* Cointe de Gobmeau, Histoirc des Penes (Paris, 1869), I, 95—96, Nietzsche may also
have read Shelley** The Revolt of Islam which describcü *Eagle and Serpent wreathed
in fight* (Canto I, viii},
l
* * Ferner waren die wachsamen und tcharf sehenden Geister durch Vögel symbolisiert.
Sie gehörten der reineren Schöpfung an, und waren Feinde des Ahriman und seiner
Sdiöpfuag; daher Ormuzd durch den Habidn oder auch durch den Adler vcrsinnlidit
ward-* Georg Friedrich Creuzcr, Symbolik und Mythologie der alten Volker, beson~
den der Grirc&oi (Leipzig fit Darmstadt, 1837—1841), I, 221, 223. Nietzsche borrowed
the diird volume of this work fronx Basel University Library in June, 1871, and again
in August, 1872 (A- Lery, Stirner et Nietz*€he {Paris, 1904), 100, 104), and later
acquired ifae complete work hütiiclL Martin Vogel suggcsts that Creuzcr's chaptcr on
Dionysu» wa$ a formative infiuxmcc on GT (Apollinisch und Dionysisch (Rcgcmburg,
1966), pp. 97—*$%}. The idcntiflication of Ahriman with a dragon or snakc is tnade
by Saopcnhaucr, Pürerga und Paraliponuna (Leipzig, 1891), H, 322, 395, 405, and
by Nictzsdht*** colleague at Ba$cl, Jacrf> Mähly, Die Schlange im Mythus und Cultus
der cl*s$Ud*en Volker (Basel, 1867), pp. 23, 25.
244 David S. Thatcher

reconciling the two? Is there any precedent for such a reconciliation, and
what symbolic significance attaches to it?
Nietzsdie's view of the eagle adheres strictly to the traditional one.
Many ancient peoples, the Babylonians and Egyptians for example, re-
garded the eagle äs a Symbol of divine majesty and kingship, and the
Romans used it äs a symbol of imperial and military power. Creuzer noted
that "ueberhaupt war der Adler ein königliches Symbol bei den Persern,"11
and concluded his discussion of bird-symbolism with these words:
Wenn wir nodi in unsern Tagen die Spuren dieser Vorstellung beim
Volke finden, so erinnert dagegen der Adler, als Vogel des Zeus, der
Etruskern und Römern stets ein glückliches Zeichen und zuweilen ein
Verkündiger hoher selbst königlicher ^SRirde war, an die uralten Persi-
schen Ideen, die wir audi in den Ebraischen Propheten angedeutet fin-
den. Denn auch die alten Monarchen von Iran wählten ja den Adler
zum symbolisdien Ausdruck königlicher Würde.12
Creuzer went on to observe that "die Griechen und Römer kannten den
[Adler] als Vogel des Juppiter; und auch dem Römischen Imperator, als
dem irdischen Juppiter, war der Adler geheiligt."13 As a classical philologist
Nietzsche, it may reasonably be supposed, would have found iiothing novel
or revolutionary about this Statement, but two illustrations Creuzer offer-
ed in support of his claims may have struck Nietzsche's imagination. Both

are of ancient coins: one is described äs "Juppiter der Adlerträger'3 and

depicts the god with an eagle perdied falcon-like, on his outstretdied arm;
the second coin represents "Zeus von Elis" on one side and, on the reverse,
"der Adler stehend zwischen Blitz und Schlangen." The eagle, of coürse, was
the carrier of Zeus's thunderbolt and lightning (here, äs elsewhere, sym-
11
Creuzer, I, 221n. Cf.: "Der Adler ist nach assyrisch-persischer Symbolik die Sdiutz-
gottheit der, Könige." J. J, Badiofen, Die Sage von Tanaquil (Basel, 1951), p. 62n. This
work was first published in 1870.
12
Creuzer, III, 649.
18
Ibid., 756.
 Eagle and Scrpent in Zarathustra 245

bolized by the zig-zag form of the snake), his weapon-bearer (lovis armiger
in Virgil*$ words); he was the divine bird par excellence, reputedly able
to fly higher than any Other winged cfeature, the only bird privileged to
dwell with Zeus in heaven.
The eagle is also a common solar symbol. As Zarathustra says: "Mein
Adler ist wach und ehrt gleich mir die Sonne. Mit Adlers-Klauen greift er
nach dem neuen Lichte* (SA II, p. 559). Gobineau's evöcation of the Cau-
casus, the home of eagles "bien au~dessus des plaines ... bien au-dessus des
hommes esclaves, parmi les demeures de Dieu," and his description of the
giant Caucasian bird Symbourgh (adou6 d'une sagesse profonde, oracle
infaillible et instructeur des humains**)14 prefigure the tutelary function of
Zarathustra's eagle. Indeed, the eagle often proved very accommodating:
*We find very numerous examples in the ancient classics of eagles that
presage now victory, now supreme power to the heroes, that now nourish,
now save them, and now sacrifice themselves for them."15 Just äs an eagle
brought nectar to Zeus when he was in hiding from Chronos,16 so Zara-
thustra's eagle is shown bringing the hermit food (SA II, pp. 462, 480). In
another passage the symbolic attributes of nobility, aspiration, sun-worship
and Service are fused in a qtiivering vision of longing and expectancy: "Auf
dem Baume Zukunft bauen wir unser Nest; Adler sollen uns Einsamen
Speise bringen in ihren Schnäbeln! ... Und wie starke Winde wollen wir
über ihnen [den Unsauberen] leben, Nachbarn den Adlern, Nachbarn dem
Schnee, Nachbarn der Sonne" (SA II, p. 356)* As an emblem of courage,
like the lion, the eagle is featured on the tombs of warriors, and in the
section headed *Von den berühmten Weisen* Zarathustra uses the emblem
to attack those who have not learnt that knowledge and spirituality stem
from the conquest of suffering and fear: "Ihr seid keine Adler: so erfuhrt
ihr auch das Glück im Schrecken des Geistes nicht- Und wer kein Vogel ist,
soll sidh nicht über Abgründen lagern.n17 Finally, the eagle is the arch-enemy
14
Gobineau, I, 200, Cf. the Quotation from Galiani in WM, aph. 989: "Les philosophcs
ne sont pas faits pour s'aimer. Les aiglcs nt volcnt point en compagnic. I] faut laisscr
ccia aux pcrdrix, aus £touroeaux *. - Planer audessus ti avoir de$ griffcs, voiU le lot
des graruis gaues.* Also Schopenhauer: "Die cigcntlidien großen Geister horsten, wie
die Adler, in der Höhe, allein.* Parcrga^ I, 474* In Morgenröte Nietzsche reports a
dreans in wiuch he toared e mtt der Wonne eines Adlers hinauf nach fernen Bcrg-
»pitzen* (SA 1,1094). Cf. SA II, p. 651 (apk 193).
" Angelo de Gubcrnatis, Zoological Mythology (London, 1872), II, 196. For dctailcd
examples scc Thompson» p. 10.
19
An hiddcnt mcatioaed by Ludwig Prcllcr, Griccbisae Mythologie, 4th ed. (Berlin,
ISST), I» 133—134* Nietzsdbc borrowed thtt work (and its corapanion» Romhae
Mythologie) $evieral times frc«n Basel Umvemty Library (see Le^y» pp. 94, 98, 105,
109).
11
SA H, p. 36i Cf.: *Dcr Mttr tAlägt acdb de« Schwindel tot an Abgr&nden: tind wo
stunde der Mensch nicht an Abgründen l Ist Sehen nicht selber — Abgründc sehen?**
246 David S. Thatcher

of the spirit of gravity: "Mein Magen — ist wohl eines Adlers Magen?
Denn er liebt am liebsten Lammfleisch ,.. Von unschuldigen Dingen ge-
nährt und von wenigem, bereit und ungeduldig zu fliegen, davonzufliegen
... Und zumal, daß ich dem Geist der Schwere feiiid bin, das ist Vogel-
Art."18
"The serpent symbol is the most widespread, comprehensive, and
marvellous, ever conceived by the human race."19 According to one writer
Nietzsche read, the snake, äs an object of worship, was "pre-eminent among
animals."20 Snake symbolism is much more extensive, complex and ambiva-
lent than that of the eagle, for the creature had both beneficent and male-
volentaspects: /
Snakes, at any rate the non-poisonous varieties, were in the main of
good repute in the pagan Graeco-Roman world, in contrast to the evil
diaracter ascribed to them in general in Jewish and Christian literature
and thought. They were prized äs zoological exhibits, kept äs pets,
regarded äs representing the beneficent spirits of the dead, associated
with deities of healing and fertility and with the 'saving' gods and
goddesses of the mystery cults; they had apotropaic and prophetic qual-
ities; and their decprative potential was fully recognized by craftsmen.21
Let us look at the beneficent aspect in more detail.
Creuzer noted that for the Egyptians the snake represented benevö-
lence, and that the Greeks adopted the idea: "In dieser Beziehung auf wohl-
thätige, göttliche Kraft nannten die Griechen die unschädliche Schlange, be-
sonders vermuthlich die Thebai'sche, ."?2 the Gnostics the

(SA II, p. 407). And again: "Habt ihr Mut, o meine Brüder? Seid ihr herzhaft?
Nickt Mut vor Zeugen, sondern Einsiedler- und Adler-Mut, dem auch kein Gott mehr
zusieht? Kalte Seelen, Maultiere, Blinde, Trunkene heißen mir nicht herzhaft. Herz
hat, wer Furcht kennt, aber Furcht zwingt; wer den Abgrund sieht, aber mit Stolz.
Wer den Abgrund sieht, aber mit Adlers-Augen, — wer mit Adlers-Krallen den Ab-
grund faßt: der hat Mut. ~-" (SA II, p. 524) The eagle's sharpness of vision is praised
in two verse aphorisms in FW, 40 and 53 (SA II, pp. 26, 29).
18
SA II, pp. 439—440. Cf. WM, aph. 950: "'Eagles dive sträight to the point.' — Not
the least sign of nobility of soul is the magnificent and proud stupidity with whlch it
attacks — 'straight to the point.'*
19
Howey, (introd.). Mähly (p. 5) quotes Pfeller's description (in Römische Mythologie,
I, p. 116) of the snake äs "das bei allen Völkern und in unzählidien Sagen und
Mährdien bedeutsame Thier."
20
Sir John Lubbock, The Origin of Civilisation and the Primitive Condition of Man
(New York, 1886), 4th ed., p. 264. Nietzsche possessed the German translation (1875)
of this work, first published in English in 1870.
21
J. M. C. Toynbee, Animals in Roman Life and Art (London, 1973), p. 223.
22
Creuzer, II, 225. Creuzer quotes Herodotus äs saying that the snake was sacred to
the temple of Zeus at Thebes (p. 225n). In the rites of niany pagan mysteries, partic-
ularly those of a Dionysian type, the snake figured prominently; and in some early
Christian cults, snakerwprship was associated with the restpration of paradise, See
 Eagle and Serpent in Zarathustra 247

agathodaemon was the bringer of health and good fortune, the teadier of
wisdom and the oracle of future events. The tribe of Levi, perhaps all the
Leah tribes, worshipped a seraph, or winged serpent, and the levite priest-
shamans Moses and Aaron already had snake staves in Africa and the court
of Pharaoh; the image of Jähweh at the time of Isaiah was a bronze ser-
pent*58 Christ (though he may have meant no more than abe prudent")
advises his disciples to be äs "wise äs serpents* (Matthew, x, 16) and, in
Hindu tradition, the snake is "at once the learned one, and he who im-
parts learning.*24 In the Norse tradition serpent hearts were roasted and
eaten by warriors äs givers of strength and wisdom. In ancient Greece the
snake, particularly the python, was associated with prophecy: Melampos,
Cassandra and Tiresias all became seers by virtue of their commerce with
snakes.** It is not unremarkable, then, that the prophet Zarathustra, like
the emperor Tiberius,** should have an agathodaemon in attendance, or
that he should describe it äs "das klügste Tier unter der Sonne/* Zarathustra
is also a "healer,* and this aspect of the snake's power and wisdom is
embodied in Egyptian, Greek and Roman art. Asclepius, the god of med-
icine, has a snake-encircled staff, and Hermes (Mercury), the messenger of
the gods, has a rod of office, the caduceus, represented by two entwined
serpents.*7 Zarathustra's disciples present him with such a caduceus, "an
dessen goldnem Griffe sich eine Schlange ... ringelte" (SA II, p. 336). Za-

Joscph Campbell, The Mttks of God: Creative iiyibology (New York, 1968), pp,
151—152.
23
For Old Testament refercnces $ee Wcston La Barre, Tbey Sball Take Up Serpenu
(Miaaeapolis, 1962), 59 .
** Gubcniaus, II, 405,
55
C£. Prclkr, Griedbitthe Mythologie* patsim,
** According to Suctonius fMähly, p< H), the emperor Itbcrms kcpt a housc snake
(serpenf draco) whia be fed with hu own hands* Tiberius is also associated witb the
tagle, for Apollonidei rcUtrs that üu* "holy bird of good omen* perdhed on his
housc just bcforc he was recalled from Rhode*.
27
Creuzcr's cfcapicr on Hermcs-Mcrcuruu nwmtions hU "SdhJangcnattribut* (III, 289).
248 David S. Thatcher

rathustra, a name which mcans "star of gold,"28 is dclighted with the gift/9
and in his speedi of thanks explains how goid acquired its high worth äs an
image of the highest virtue, "the gift-giving virtue": "Macht ist sie, diese
neue Tugend: ein herrschender Gedanke ist sie, und um ihn eine kluge Seele:
eine goldene Sonne, und um sie die Schlange der Erkenntnis."30 The posses-
sion of this staff identifies Zarathustra äs a prophet, seer, magus or medi-
cine-man, like Moses or Hermes.81
And what of the contrary notiön, that the snake is evil, deceitful and
dangerous, the bringer of sin and death? This finds its most familiär ex~
pression in the Christian myth of the Fall, but it is also found among the
Persians who, according to Gobineau, regarded siiakes with loathing:
"Cest un devoir pour tous les Arians de d truire les animaux nuisibles et
tout ce qui appartient au monde de ' ^ , notamment de courir sus aux

28
In two letters to Peter Gast (April 23 and May 20, 1883), Nietzsche teils excitedly of
his discovery that the name means "star of gold." He could have discovered the
derivation in Gobineau (II, 54) or Creuzer (I, 184, 308). For other possible sources
see Andre Schaeffner (ed.), Nietzsche: Lettres a Peter Gast (Monaco, 1957), I, 200—
201 (note 354).
29
With reference to Hesiod's Works and Days, Gobineau writes: "Alors, dit PAvesta,
Ahoura-Mazda, le Dieu c&este, donna äü soüverain, au maitre, au civilisateur des
hommes, pour insignes de son pouvoir, une lance d'or, un aiguillon d'or. Voila l'idee
de Tor associee a celle de- la race premiere, comme eile Test dans les Travaux et les
Jours" (I, 58).
30
Nietzsdie must have come across many descriptions and illustrations of the caduceus^
in its various forms. One example is illustrated in a book he knew, Badiofen's Grä-
bersymbolik (Basel, 1954), and described by the aüthor äs follows: "Auf einem Cameo
des Museum Florentinum ersdieint zwischen zwei aufgerichteten Drachen ein Ei, das
beide mit ihrem geöffneten Radien zu halten scheinen; über demselben das Zeichen
des Halbmondes, zu beiden Seiten, den zwei Schlangen entsprechend, zwei Sterne;
unter dem Ei, zwischen den Drachenleibern aufgerichtet, der Flügelstab, den eine
dritte Schlange in drei Windungen umkreist; rechts und links im Felde gleich verteilt
vier Buchstaben, die das Wort YTIA bilden" (pp. 167—168). The "Flügelstab" itself
is surmounted by an eagle or hawk. (See Illustration on page 247.)
31
Hermes was also assigned attributes of the bird life to add to his chthonic nature äs
serpent: "His staff acquired wings above the serpents ... and the god himself became
the 'flying man' with his winged hat and sandals. Here we see his füll power of
transcendence, whereby the lower transcendence from underworld snake-consciousness,
passing through the medium of earthly reality, finally attains transcendence to super-
human or transpersonal reality in its winged flight." Joseph L. Henderson, "Ancient
Myths and Modern Man/ in Carl G. Jung, Man and His Symbols (New York, 1968)
p. 155. There is no reason to think that the wings (feathers are symbols of power)
are specifically eagle's wings, but it is wprth bearing in mind that, historically,
Hermes and the eagle were associated: "La cornmunaute des fonctions devait amener
la confusion entre faigle interprete de Zeus et Hermes le porte-parole du dieu: dans
la Mythologie Vaticane Zeus change Hermes en aigle. Une monnaie de Phenie, du
temps de Marc ^Antoine, montre le caducee daris la serre d'*un aigle. Pareillement sur
un linteau d'H^liopolis-Baalbek un aigle tient un caducie.* P. Raingeard, Hermes
Psychagogue (Paris, 1935), p. 355 (see also p. 240). Cf. Cook, III, 1071.
 Eagle and Scrpent in Zarathustra 249

reptiles, de boucher leurs trous et d'exterminer leur engeance,"32 Zarathu-

stra's own serpent is clearly an agathodaemon, but the otfaer snakes he
encounters are malign and repulsive, analogous to the "kakodaemon" of the
Gnostic heresy. In the dhäpter "Der häßlichste Mensch/' for example,
Zarathustra stumbles into a valley the shepherds called "Schlangen-Tod":
"Hier starrten schwarze und rote Klippen empor: kein Gras, kein Baum,
keine Vogelstimme. Es war nämlich ein Tal, welches alle Tiere mieden, auch
die Raubtiere; nur daß eine Art häßlicher, dicker, grüner Schlangen, wenn
sie alt wurden, hierher kamen, um zu sterben" (SA II, p. 501). In other
instances, the serpent represents a force or danger which must be encoun-
tered, resisted and overcome. In the section "Von den drei Verwandlungen,"
the ancient hostility between eagle and serpent is suggested in the battle
between the independent, creative will of the Hon (the earthly, mammalian
equivalent of the eagle) and the "great dragon" of morality and conven-
tional values:
Welches ist der große Drache, den der Geist nicht mehr Herr und Gott
heißen mag? *Du sollst* heißt der große Drache. Aber der Geist des
Löwen sagt "ich will*. "Du-sollst* liegt ihm am Wege, goldfunkelnd,
ein Schuppender, und auf jeder Sdiuppe glänzt golden "Du sollst!"
Tausendjährige Werte glänzen an diesen Schuppen, und also spricht der
mächtigste aller Drachen: "Aller Wert der Dinge — der glänzt an mir,**
"Aller Wert ward schon geschaffen, und aller geschaffene Wert — das
bin ich. Wahrlich, es soll kein *Idi will* mehr geben!* Also spridbt der
Dradie. (SA II, p. 294)
In "Vom Biß der Natter,* Zarathustra smiles when the snake teils hirn
that the poison is lethal and replies: "'Wann starb wohl je ein Dradie am
Gift einer Schlange?1 — sagte er* 'Aber nimm dein Gift zurück! Du bist
nicht reich genug, es mir zu schenken/ Da fiel ihm die Natter von neuem
um den Hals und leckte ihm seine Wunde* (SA II, p, 330). Zarathustra
morafizes the episode: "Den Verniditer der Moral heißen mich die Guten
und Gerechten: meine Geschichte ist unmoralisch. So ihr aber einen Feind
habt, so vergeltet Öini nicht Böses mit Gutem: denn das würde beschämen.
Sondern beweist, daß er euch etwas Gutes angetan hat." Zarathustra does
not kill the snake, nor bear it iil-wili; he has no need for revenge. He
profits from the snake's act of aggression, tunung it to good account,
transforming it into good by what might be termed his power, symbolized
by the Hermetic staff, of psychological or homeopathic alchemy.83 Hc

Gobineam I* 89.
in fact, Xietz^hc dcfincd bis ^Umtrcitotq; aller Wcnc* in alcKcmical tcrmi: "Im
Grunde ist der Goldmadi^r die verdienstlichste Art Mcrudi, die es gibt: ich meine der,
welcher am Geringem, Veradbietem etwas Wmvolle* und K>gar Gold tnadbt, Dit-scr
berttdiert, die ändern wedbietn mt um, Meine Aufgab« ist gaofc kurios dies-
250 David S. Thatcher

rejoices in the existence of things men regard äs evil, and wishes them to
increase: "Warum noch klappern, ihr Klapperschlangen? Wahrlich, es gibt
auch für das Böse noch eine Zukunft! . *. Wie manches heißt jetzt schon
ärgste Bosheit, was doch nur zwölf Schuhe breit und drei Monate lang ist!
Einst aber werden größere Drachen zur Welt kommen. Denn daß dem
Übermenschen sein Drache nicht fehle, der Uber-Dradie, der seiner würdig
ist: dazu muß viel heiße Sonne noch auf feuchten Urwald glühn!"34 The
Übermensch needs the evil principle äs an aid to his own self-overcoming,
and he will not retreat from it in horror or fear, no matter how repellent
the form it takes. This is illustrated most revealingly of all in the diapter
"Vom Gesicht und Rätsel":
Einen jungen Hirten sah ich, sich windend, würgend, zuckend, verzerrten
Antlitzes, dem eine sdiwarze schwere Schlange aus dem Munde hing.
Sah ich je so viel Ekel und bleiches. Grauen auf einem Antlitze? Er hatte
wohl gesdilafen? Da kroch ihm die Schlange in den Sdilund — da biß
sie sich fest. Meine Hand riß die Sdilange und riß — umsonst! sie riß
die Schlange nicht aus dem Schlunde. Da sdirie es aus mir: "Beiß zu!
Beiß zu! Den Kopf ab! Beiß zu P — so schrie es aus mir, mein Grauen,
mein Haß, mein Ekel, mein Erbarmen, all mein Gutes und Schlimmes
schrie mit einem Schrei aus mir.35

mal: ich habe mich gefragt, was bisher von der Mensdiheit am besten gehaßt, ge-
fürchtet, verachtet worden ist — und daraus gerade habe idi mein 'Gold' gemacht..."
Letter to Brandes, May 23, 1888 (SA III, p. 1295). Cf. Epictetus: "This is the rod of
Hermes: touch what you will with it> they say^ and it becomes gold. Nay, but bring
what you will and I will transmüte it into Good. Bring sickness, bring death, bring
poverty and reproadi, bring trial for life — all these things through the rod of
Hermes shall be turned to profit." Quoted from Arrian's Discourses in Joseph
Campbell, The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology (New York, 1964) p. 251.
Preller refers to this Statement of Epictetus in his discussion of the caduceus.
34
SA II, p. 398. "A hero was a hero, in the great past, when he had conquered the
hostile dragon, when he had the power of the dragon with him in his limbs and
breast. When Moses set up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, an act which
dominated the Imagination pf the Jews for many centüries, he was substituting the
potency of the good dragon for the sting of the bad dragon, or serpents. That is,
man can have the serpent with him or against him. When his serpent is with him, he
is almost divine. When his serpent is against him, he is stung and envenomed and
defeated from within. The great problem, in the past, was the Conquest of the
inimical serpent and the liberation within the seif of the gleaming bright serpent of
gold, golden fluid life within the body, the rousing of the splendid divine dragon
within a man, or within a woman." D.H. Lawrence, Apocalypse (Lohdon, 1932),
pp. 162—163 (all of diapter XVI is relevant to the present discussion). Cf. Rilke's
allusion to "der Mythen von den Drachen, die sich im Äußersten Augenblick in
Prinzessinnen verwandeln.* Briefe an einen jungen Dichter (Frankfurt a. M,, 1963),
p. 46, There is a story that Rilke refused to see a, psyctiatrist on the grounds that,
if he lost his devils, he would have to relinquish his angels,'too.
35
SA II, p. 410. Cf. F. D. Luke, "Nietzsche and the Imagery of Height," Pttblications
of the English Goethe Society, XXVIII (1959), 102.
 Eagle and Serpent in Zarathustra 251

The shepherd acts on Zarathustra's wild, imploring cry, bites and spits out
the snake's head, an action which symbolizes "the free spirit's curse and
privilege, his compulsion and his capacity to accept and assimilate even
the ugliest truth.*30 The shepherd springs up, transformed: "Nicht mehr
Hirt, nicht mehr Mensch — ein Verwandelter, ein Umleuditeter, welcher
lathte! Niemals noch auf Erden lachte je ein Mensch, wie er lachte!** To
Gustav Naumann the Hack snake is "der Wiederkunftsgedanke, den Nietz-
sche weder los(zu)werden noch sich ein(zu)verleiben weiß*:
Was könnte der letztere, der frohgewordene, triumphierende Mensdi,
der Übermensch, sich anderes als ewige Wiederkehr wünschen, sogar um
den Preis, daß zugleidi audi alles ringende Mühen neu wiederholt wer-
den muß? ... Nach früheren Entwürfen aber hätte der Hirt den Tod
finden sollen, ein Beweis, daß Nietzsdie eine Zeitlang an seinem Ge-
danken zu Grunde gehen zu können glaubte. Die schließlich zur Aus-
führung gelangte Variante ist zuversiditlidier, klingt mit einer Hindeu-
tung auf den Übermensch aus. Der ist nicht mehr ein Hirt, ein dirist-
lidi mitleidender Heerdenführer, sondern ist als lichtumflossener Heros
mit einer Bejahungsfreudigkeit gedadit, derengleidien es heute auf Erden
nicht giebt.37
The shephercPs laughter, a sign of jubilant self-conquest, of victory over
nausea and fear, leaves Zarathustra with an unquenchable longing for a
race of "laughing lions.* In a later passage Zarathustra explicitly identifies
himself with the shepherd and, addressing his eagle and serpent, emphasizes
once again the crucial necessity of rehabilitating evil: "Ach, meine Tiere,
das allein lernte ich bisher, daß dem Menschen sein Bösestes nötig ist zu
seinem Besten, — daß alles Böseste seine beste Kraft ist und der härteste
Stein dem höchsten Schaffenden; und daß der Mensch besser und böser
werden muß* (SA II, p. 464). This, it might be argued, is the central lesson

** Peter Heller, *The Tragedy of Knowledge: Notes on Nietz$cbe's Memorabilia,"

Malabo Review, XXIV (October, 1972), 160* The questions Heller poses in the
section of his artide enthled *To swallow a toad* apply with eqüal relevance to the
black snake: *What is the toad? Symbol of the attraction of ugliness, the curse of
knowl«Jget or the contraiy: of hideous, repulsive vitality? Of truth? Of life? Of all
of theic? Of the overcoroing of the deadliness of destructive insight by its acceptance,
the conqucst of disease by its transformatioo into that higher hcalth which was to be
the objcct of NietzsAe's uhimate longing, the paradtse whidb he bclievcd to havc
atuined on the thrcshold of his descent into darkncss?"
w
Z*tAthu*tT*»Kc>mmtni*r (Leipzig, 1899—1901), III, 28—29. For a psydboanalytic
readmg of the episode *ee Carl Gtistav Jung, Symiolf o} Transformation (New York
1956), pp, J78—379. To Jung the snake symbolizcs the unconscious psydtc: *It is both
toxic and propbylactic, cqually a syrnbol of the good and bad dacmon (the Agatbo-
dacmon), of Christ and the devü ... It U an cxcellcßt symbol for the unconscious,
perfertly crprciilng the latter9» suddcn and unexpected manifcstaüons» iw painful
and dongeroui intcrrenüon in our affairs, and its frightening effecti" (p. 374). In·
cidentally, Oreuztr3'* Symbolik und Mythologie was an itaponant influcncc on the
deveJopmcnt of Jung'f ihought.
252 David S. Thatcher

his two complementary animals have taught him: that good and evil, to-
gether with related existentiäl antinomies, are interdependent and neces-
sary?* Both raust be transcended: "Wahrlich, ich sage euch: Gutes und Bö-
ses, das unvergänglich wäre — das gibt es nicht! Aus sich selber muß es sich
immer wieder überwinden .., Also gehört das höchste Böse zur höchsten
Güte: diese aber ist die schöpferisdie. —" (SA II, p. 372) If the dark side of
divinity is not acknowledged it will manifest itself äs a destructive rather
than potentially creative f orce.
A common motif of all ancient mythologies is the "multiple appear-
ance of a god simultaneously in higher and lower aspects."30 Clearly, eagle
and serpent can be regarded äs polarized aspects of one divinity, "aspects
of a single polymorphous principle, symbolized in, yet beyond, all."40
Although the contrasts and correspondences between the two are not exact
or absolute at every point (for example, snakes are thought of äs phallic,
i, e. male, and they are associated with Apollo äs well äs with Dionysus),
they are consistent and persistent enough to provide a dialectical matrix
for an understanding of Zarathustra äs a whole. The following emerge äs
the most striking antinomies:
EAGLE SERPENT
God Satan
good · evil
heaven ' hell
height (mountains, 'sky) depth (abyss)
vertical (stars) horizontal (sea)
air and fire (lightning) earth and water (cloud)
buoyancy (bird) gravitjr (feptile)
day (midday) night (midnight)
light dark
sun moon
summer winter
south north
male (animus) female (anima)
father mother
pride wisdom
Apollo Dionysus
logos eros
reason energy
mind matter
spirit body
conscious (ego) unconscious (id)
alpha omega
38
As Zarathustra says in the chapter "Vom Baum am Berge": "Aber es ist mit dem Men-
schen wie mit dem Baume. Je mehr er hinauf in die Höhe und Helle will,.um so
stärker streben seine Wurzeln erdwärts, abwärts, ins Dunkle, Tiefe — ins Böse" (SA
II, p. 307).
30
Campbell, Occidental Mythology, p. 12.
40
Ibid.
 Eagle and Scrpcnt in Zaratbustra 253

The eagle is the creature of daytime and light, the serpent of night and
darkness. The eagie inhabits the element of air:
It represents the higher, spiritual principle, released from the bondage
of matter and soaring into the translücent ether, mounting to its kin,
the stars, and even to the supreme being above them. On the other
hand, the serpent is iife-förce in the sphere of life-matter ,.. It creeps
along the ground; it dwells in the earth and Starts forth like a fountain
from its hole«41
The eagle is solar and masculine (coincidentally in German "der Adler"
and "der Stolz"), the serpent lunar and feminine (coincidentally in Ger-
man "die Schlange* and die Klugheit").42 In many respects the eagle shares
the attributes of Apollo, the serpent of Dionysus.43 From the psydioana-
lytical point of view the eagle represents the rational, conscious mind (ego)
and the serpent the forces of the unconscious (id or libido). Eagle and
serpent stand in the same relation äs spirit and body,44 alpha and omega,45
41
Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Jndian An and Civilization (New York,
1946), p. 74. Cf.: "The eagle belongs to Father Heaven, Father Zeus in the mythology
of the Greeks. Serpents, on the other hand, artend the goddess Hera, Zeus's consort,
Mother Earth* (p. 73). Crcuzer (III, 447) notes that the snakc is an attribute of
Minerva: *[Sie] ist das Symbol der Erde, und eignet der Minerva, in so fern sie den
Erdgeist regelt, und agrarisch und ärztlich läutert und bessert. Die Schlange war schon
in der alten Wahrsagung der Erde Kind genannt." Nietzsche associates the snakc with
the earth in a verse epigram in FW (SA II, 18).
43
The eagle and the serpent episode in the Iliad (XII, 201 ff.) was intcrpreted by
Kolchos äs an auspicious omcn: "The hcavcnly bird ravaging the serpent symbolizcd
to him the victory of the patriardbal, masculine, heavenly ordcr of the Greeks over
the female principle of Asia and Troy* (Zimmer, p. 74). Isis, Athena (Minerva) and
the serpent goddesses of Crete also illustrate the conncction of the snakc with the
feminine principle. Mähly (p. 25) cites Dcmcter, Corc and Hecate äs further examples.
One roight add Eurynome, Artemis, Pcrscphonc, Medusa — evcn Eve and Cleopatra!
45
Howey (p. 127) cites one authority to show that the serpent has six points of
conncction with Dionysus: äs a symbol of wisdom, äs a solar emblem, äs a symbol
of tixne and ctcrnlty, äs an eniblem of the earth, äs connected with fertilising
aioisture, and äs a phallic emblem, See also Mähly (p. 7) and Bachofen: "In der
Schlange erscheint Bacchus, den die Engeweihtcn durch ihren Busen gleiten lassen« den
die Frauen an den nächtlichen Orgien sich um den Leib winden." Grabersymbolik>
p. 185.
44
Cf. SA II, p. 337:*Aufwärts geht unser Weg, von der Art hinüber zur Ober-Art.
Aber ein Grauen ist uns der entartende Sinn, welcher spricht: 'Alles für mich/ Auf-
wärt) fliegt unser Sinn: so ist er ein Gleichnis unsres Leibes, einer Erhöhung Gleichnis.
Solcher Erhöhungen Gleichnisse und die Namen der Tugenden. Also geht der Leib
durch die Geschichte, ein Werdender and ein Rümpfender. Und der Geist — was ist* er
üim? Seiner Kampfe und Siege Herold, Genoß und Widerhall» ... Achtet mir, meine
Brüder, auf Jede Stunde, wo euer Geist in Gleichnissen reden will: da ist der Ursprung
eurer Tugend. Erhöht ist da euer Leib und auferstanden; mit seiner Wonne entzuckt
er den Geist, daß er Schöpfer wird und Schätäer Und Liebender und aller Dinge
Wohltäten1*
** Cf. SA 11, p. 476: *~~* im Lachen nämlich ist alles B&e beieinander» aber heilig· und
durch scint eignt· Seligkeit: — und wenn das nxrin A und O ist» daß
254 David S. Thatcher

and embody the dualism which lay at the heart of Zoroastrian reiigion, a
dualism whidi Nietzsche, "der erste Immoralist," seeks to transcend:
Zarathustra hat zuerst im Kampf des Guten und des Bösen das eigent-
liche Rad im Getriebe der Dinge gesehn — die Übersetzung der Moral
ins Metaphysische, als Kraft, Ursache, Zweck an sich, ist sein Werk...
Zarathustra schuf diesen verhängnisvollen Irrtum* die Moral: folglich
muß er auch der erste sein, der ihn erkennt... Die Selbstüberwindung
der Moral aus Wahrhaftigkeit, die Selbstüberwindung des Moralisten in
seinen Gegensatz — in mich — das bedeutet in meinem Munde der
Name Zarathustra.46
Just äs Zarathustra sees in himself a counter-image of bis Persian fore-
runner, so the eagle and the serpent, äs agathodaemon, are set up äs coun-
ter-images, i. e. no longer enemies, but frienjds, beyond good and evil, and
beyond death and time.
In pagan äs well äs Christian times both the eagle and the serpent
symbolized eternity: "The eagle is the bind of apotheosis and resurrection.
As Jupiter is carried aloft by the eagle so the soul of the deified emperor
is carried by him to heaven."47 From the Physiologus*8 we learn that the
eagle, in old age, has the power to renew himself by flying up toward the
circle of the sun, burning bis wings in its scorching rays, and theri plunging
three times into a fountain, from which he emerges with fresh plumage and
sharpened vision. The snake is also an obvious symbol of eternity, "ein
Bild des schaffenden Genius und der ewigen Verjüngung und Erneuerung
des Jahres,"49 both in its coiling shape and in its power to renew itself by

alles Schwere leicht, aller Leib Tänzer, aller Geist Vogel werde: und wahrlich, das
ist mein A und O! —" Otto Keller says of the eagle: "Die Ägypter haben ihm die
erste Stelle im Alphabet eingeräumt: aus dem uralten Hieroglyphenbild des Adlers ist
durch Umwandlung, ohne Verlust der charakteristischen Hauptlinien, unser heutiges A
hervorgegangen." Die antike Tierwelt (Leipzig, 1913), p. 2. The ouroboros of "O"
hardly needs comment, but it is interesting that the Egyptian hieroglyph which
corresponds to the letter "Z" is a representation of the movenient of a snake.
46
SA II, pp. 1153—1154. Both Creuzer (I, 194) and Gobineau (l, 39) stress this central
dualism in Persian religion. So did Theodor Poesdie, author of another work in
Nietzsche's library, Die Arier (Jena, 1878), p. 146. Some Zoroastrian sects, however,
do not adhere to dualism: the Zurvanites, for example, regard good and evil äs two
aspects of one single creator, Zurvan.
47
Wittkower, p. 311. See also Preller, Römische Mythologie, II, 444.
48 "Physiologus" is the name given to an uiiidentified writer who lived, perhaps in
Egypt, between the second and fifth centuries A. D., and who summarized the animal
lore of ancient Asiatic, Hellenic and Egyptian traditions, incorporated the findings of
such writers äs Herpdotus, Ctesias, Aristotle and Pliny, sind produced a bestiary
(perhaps in Greek) which was translated into many languages. His work was a major
influence on the bestiaries of the Middle Ages.
49
Preller, Römische Mythologie, p. 341 (qupted by Mähly, p. 7). Bachofen (Gräber-
symbolik, p. 169) points out that on certain tombstones 'snakes represent "nicht die
stofflich gedachte Naturkraft des zeugenden Phallus, sondern vielmehr die Wieder-
geburt, die das Leben verjüngend erneuert."
 Eagle and Serpent in Zarathustra 255

sloughing its skin — there is a poem by Nietzsche on this theme, "Bei der
dritten Häutung* (SA II, p. 18). In the notes for Zaratbustra we read: c<Die
Sonne der Erkenntnis steht wieder einmal im Mittag: und geringelt liegt
die Sdilange der Ewigkeit in ihrem Lichte* (GA XII, p. 425). The striking
appearance of the eagle, gliding in wide circles with a serpent around his
neck, and other references in whidi both creatures are associated with the
doctrine of the eternal recurrence (e. g. SA II, pp. 446 - 447, 463, 473)
have led Naumann and Gramzow,50 among others, to lay particular stress
on this aspect of Nietzsche's symbolism. Heidegger, for instance, writes:
Wir ahnen schon in diesem geheimnisvollen Umhalsen, wie unausge-
sprodien im Kreisen des Adlers und im Ringeln der Sdilange Kreis und
Ring sich umringen. So erglänzt der Ring, der annulus aeternitatis heißt:
Siegelring und Jahr der Ewigkeit. Im Anblick der beiden Tiere zeigt
sich, wohin sie selbst, kreisend und sich ringelnd, gehören. Denn sie
machen nie erst Kreis und Ring, sondern fügen sich darein, um so ihr
Wesen zu haben.41
However, the friendship between two traditionally hostile creatures points
to a synthesis of symbolical meaning above and beyond the Symbols, similar
or dissimilar, which attach to them individually. Let us recall the important
episode of the shepherd with the black snake crawling into his mouth: this
represents something more complex than a method of proclaiming the
eternal recurrence doctrine. It dramatises a response to the horror of what
Zarathustra calls **der abgründlidiste Gedanke.* The action of the shepherd
in biting off the snake's head signifies a conquest of "Erkenntnisekel," and
he is transformed, no longer a man, "ein Verwandeiter, ein Umleuditeter,
welcher lachte!* In a later passage this "abysmal thought" is conceived of
in terms of a silent, burrowing, constricting and biting snake which
requires the courage of a lion (read "eagle") to summon and subdue:
Also rief mir alles in Zeichen zu: "es ist Zeit!" Aber ich — hörte nicht:
bis endiidi mein Abgrund sich rührte und mein Gedanke midi biß. Adi,
abgrundlidier Gedanke, der du mein Gedanke bist! Wann finde ich die

M
Naumaan If 71, 77, 82; Otto Granizow, Kurzer Kommentar zum "Zaratbuttra* (Ber-
lin, 1907), p. 133.
*J "Wer ist Nictxsdi« ZÄradbustra?^ in Vortrage und Auftätze (Pfullingcn, 1954), p* 104.
Heidegger'* notion that tfac animais rcprcscnt aspects of Zarathustra himsclf is clearly
right. Hc quoics two relevant pastag«, Tbc first is FW, aph. 314, fceadcd *Ncuc
Haustiere*: *Jth will meinen Löwen ood meinen Adler um midi haben, damit ich
allezeit Winke und Vorbedeutungen habe, zu willen, wie groß oder wie gering meine
Stärke ist. Muß ich heute zu ihnen htoabblkken und midi vor ihnen fürdbten? Und
wird die Stunde wiederkommen« wo we ru mir hinaufblicken, und in Furdit?" Hie
second i$ a i^ote in the Nad*lats (GA XIVt p. 279): *"Habe 5db Zeit, auf meine Tiere
zu *w*rioj? Wenn e$ meine Tiere find, so werden *se midi zu finden wissen/ Zara-
thusrras SAweigctu*
256 David S. Thatcher

Starke, dich graben zu hören und nicht mehr zu zittern? Bis zur Kehle
hinauf klopft mir das Herz, wenn ich dich graben höre! Dein Schwei-
gen noch will midi würgen, du abgründlich Schweigender! Noch wagte
ich niemals, dich herauf zu rufen: genug schon, daß ich dich mit mir
— trug! Noch war ich nicht stark genug zum letzten Löwen-Übermute
und -Mutwillen. Genug des Furchtbaren war mir immer schon deine
Schwere: aber einst soll ich noch die Stärke finden und die Löwen-
Stimme, die dich heraufruft! Wenn idi mich dessen erst überwunden
habe, dann will ich mich auch des Größeren noch überwinden; und ein
Sieg soll meiner Vollendung Siegel sein!52
In such a passage, where the eagle and serpent symbolism is only implicit,
the core of Zarathustra's message is laid bare.
It is a cardinal point of Nietzsdie's ethics that every man contains
within himself a confusion or "chaos" of contradictory drives and valua-
tions, and that his major task is to integrate the warring polarities of his
nature into some kind of higher synthesis, a "marriage of heaven and
hell" to use Blake's words.53 This striving for wholeness, this yearning to
become what one is or is meant to be, is a dynamic, dialectical process in
which "Gegensätze" are being constantly transformed. It is a dangerous
and difficult enterprise. As Heidegger says: "Zarathustra muß allererst
derjenige werden, der er ist. Vor solchem Werden schreckt Zarathustra
zurück. Der Schrecken zieht durch das ganze Werk, das ihn darstellt. Die-
ser Schrecken bestimmt den Stil, den zögernden und immer wieder verzö-
gerten Gang des ganzen Werkes. Dieser Schrecken erstickt alle Selbst-
sicherheit und Anmaßung Zarathustras schon am Beginn seines Weges. "54
This agonising tension within Zarathustra qualifies him to be advocate,
exemplar, "taskmaster" and "fisher of men": "Der nämlich bin ich von
Grund und Anbeginn, ziehend, heranziehend, hinaufziehend, aufziehend,
ein Zieher, Züchter und Zuchtmeister, der sich nicht umsonst einstmals zu-
sprach: 'Werde, der du bist!'" (SA II, p. 479). "Becoming who one is" is the
process to which Nietzsche gave the name "Selbtsüberwindung." Jung calls
it "individuation":

52
SA II, p. 413. For Nietzsche the snake is often a symbol of encircling, engulfing
menace: "Die Einsamkeit umringt und umringelt ihn, immer drohender, würgender,
herzzuschnürender, jene furchtbare Göttin und mater saeva cupidinum —" (SA I, p.
440).
53
In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake writes: "Without Contraries is no pro-
gression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary
to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil.
Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy.
Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell." For Blake the eägle symbolized the godhead, genius,
imagination, the serpent matter, suppressed desire, revolution (Orc is "serpent-
formed").
54
Vor träge, p. 105.
 Eagle and Scrpcnt in Zaratbustra 257

The cross, or whatever other heavy bürden the hero carries, is hlmself,
or rather the seif, his wholeness, which is both G öd and animal — not
merely the empirical man, but the totality of his being, which is rooted
in his animal nature and reaches out beyond the merely human towards
the divine. His wholeness implies a tremendous tension of opposites
paradoxically at one with themselves, äs in the cross, their most perfect
symbol.55
Individuation can only be adhieved "through accepting and even being led
into what appears to be evil to the traditional conscious view,"60 or, äs
Zarathustra puts it: "Denn das Böse ist des Menschen beste Kraft. 'Der
Mensch muß besser und böser werden* — so lehre ich. Das Böseste ist
nötig zu des Obermenschen Bestem/57 Nietzsche's predominant symbol of
sudi a transformation is, of course, the Übermensch, but, like other con-
figurations sudi äs the child, the rainbow, the dancing star, the laughing
lion, the homecoming and the transformed shepherd, the union of eagle and
serpent is an attempt to indicate the adiievement of self-transcendence, the
ecstatic moment of "hohe Stimmung* consequent upon "eine fortwährende
Bewegung zwischen Hodi und Tief und das Gefühl von Hoch und Tief, ein
beständiges Wie-auf-Treppen-steigen und zugleich Wie-auf-Wolken-ru-
hen.**3 Eagle and serpent are objective correlatives of what Zarathustra is,

" C G. Jung, Symbols of Transformation, p. 303.

** Edward C. Whitmont, The Symbolic Quest (New York, 1969), p. 226. "Individuation
is always a road, a way, a process, travel or travail, a dynamism; it is ncvcr, at least
not while one livcs in cimc and spacc, a statte or accomplishcd state« It is *bccoming,'
not *bcing*. The Seif äs the *goaT of the individuation process may be likened to the
pole star: one may plot one's course by it, but one does not expect to readi itw
(ibid, pp. 221—222). WhitiBont's diapter on *The Seif reads likc an abstract analysis
of what Nietzsche mcant by bis eagle and serpent Symbols.
::
SA II, p* 524. Cf.: *AUes Gute ist die Verwandlung eines Bösen: jeder Gott hat einen
Teufel zum Vater,* and: "Ideal bilden, das heißt seinen Teufel zu seinem Gott um-
sdiaffen. Und dazu muß man erst seinen Teufel geschaffen haben" (GAK XII p* 262).
AI,o JGB, aph. 75: "Grad und Art der Gcschlcditlkhkeit eines Mcnsdicn reicht bis in
den letzten Gipfel seines Geistes hinauf* (SA H, p. 626).
2H
SA II» p. 168. Luke (p. 89) comments: elt is difficult to read this passage without
rospccting that the exhüarated cuphoric statc bere described (evidently the manic
phase of a msmodepressive tcinpcramcnt, both aspects of which are later fully
drvcloped in Zarathxstra) is an cxperiencc üpon or around which much of Nictzsche*i
ractapbysics, cthics and metabiology is built up.* Although Luke, like other comxnen-
tators, neglects the dual function of the snake in Zarathuftra, he is aware of the
*individuaiion" thcmc, although he does not use the tcrm: *The suprcme task is the
dtscovery of personal truth$t of *<mc*s own* truth — the crcativc» traruforming ex-
pbration and indccd imcntion of the personal Seif* (ibid., p. 97)* Jung himsclf sccs
ZarätkH'Ara äs an alltgory of individuaticm: *Zarathuftra is no longer philosophy at
all: u is a dramatic proccis of transfornution whiA bas carcfully ywallowcd up the
tntellcct. It i* no longcr conccrncd with dbought, but, in the highcst scnsc, wnh vhe
thlnkrr of the thojgbt — and tfci» cm cvery page, A oew man, a <:ompletcly trans·
formcd man, h u> sppcar <m due iwscftc.* Ptych&lofy #nd Rtiigien Weit and
258 David S, Thatcher

or rather, what he must become. As "die Tiere seiner Einsamkeit" they

represent, äs Heidegger says, "die höchsten Forderungen an Zarathustra
selbst":
Ist es Zufall oder nur eine poetische Ausschmückung, daß die beiden
Tiere, Adler und Schlange, bei Zarathustra sind, daß sie ihm sagen, wer
er werden muß, um der zu sein, der er ist? In der Gestalt der beiden
Tiere soll für den Denkenden das Beisammen von Stolz und Klugheit
zum Vorschein kommen.5*
One can assent to this and still feel that Heidegger has missed the füll force
of his own rhetorical question. It is neither "Zufall" nor "poetisdie Aus-
schmückung" which has determined the choice of these two animals: behind
this choice lies an authentic and authenticating tradition of mythological,
religious and artistic symbolism which virtually guarantees that we will
respond to it neither äs "arbitrary"60 nor äs superficially decorative. The
suggestive richness of the eagle and serpent symbol derives from the fact
that these creatures are archetypal projections of the "Gegensätze" whidi
have to be transformed, thus embodying a vision of pre-Socratic and pre-
Christian truth, a vision which, in its insistent union of opposites, is of truly
Heraclitean intensity: "It is äs if the poet could still sense, beneath the
words of contemporary Speech and in the images that crowd in upon his
imagination, the ghostly presence of bygone spiritual worlds, and possessed
the capacity to make them come alive again."61
There are, naturally, a number of precedents f or Nietzsche's conjunctio
of eagle and serpent. Buddhism supplies us with "an edifying story m
which a holy hermit in a truly Buddhistic spirit brings about a reconcilia-
tion between a Naga and a Suparna. The recluse was no other than the
future Buddha."62 There is the seraph, or winged serpent, of the tribes of
Israel and the "plumed serpent" (like Quetzalcoatl) of pre-Columbian
America. But Nietzsdie's conjunctio may derive much of its imaginative
power63 from its resemblance to the hierogram of the circle, wings and

(New York, 1958), p. 547. In WM, aph. 795, Nietzsche defines the hermit äs "one
who forms himself."
59
Vorträge, p. 124.
80
Heidegger makes it quite clear where he Stands: "Doch Zarathustras Tiere sind nicht
beliebige Tiere, ihr Wesen ist ein Bild des Wesens von Zarathustra selbst, d.h. von
seiner Aufgabe: der Lehrer der ewigen Wiederkunft zu sein." Nietzsche (Pfullingen,
1961), I, 298.
81
Jung, Symbols of Transformation, p. 303. The context of this observation is an
analysis of "Zwischen Raubvögeln," a Nietzsche poem in which eagle and serpent
re-appear.
62
Jean Philippe Vogel, Indian Serpent-Lore (Delhi, 1926), p. 133. The story is given on
p. 142.
63
"Dieses große Bild leuchtet für den, der sehen kann! Je wesentlicher wir das Werk
sprach Zarathustra begreifen, um so einfacher und unerschöpflicher wird dieses
Eagle and Serpent in Zarathustra 259
260 - David S. Thatcher

serpent, the "uraeon" or "uraeus," the awinged globe" which is a prominent

feature in the hieroglyphs of Persia, Egypt and Mexico and which has also
been found, though more rarely, in China, Hindustan, Asia Minor, Greece
and Italy:
It is beyond doubt that this triple emblem is a symbol of the Deity,
The circle is the solar disk, considered äs the visible embodiment or
outermost manifestation of the Divine; or, äs among the ändern Per-
sians, representing the whole circle of the heavens, or the umverse,
regarded äs the expression of the Creator, or simple essence of God ...
The Serpent emerging fröm the sün is the Word, or vivifying quality
of Divine Life whidh. called all creation into existence. The wings re-
present the active, moving omnipresence of God's Love äs pervading
and penetrating all. The entire emblem typifies the Deity äs Creator
and Preserver.64
It seems improbable that Nietzsche had never seen any representation of
such a widely-spread symbol. He could hardly have failed to come across
references to it, such äs this passage in Creuzer:
Das ganze Gebilde über den Ägyptischen Tempelportalen, die Kugel,
der die Kugel umfassende Uraeus, und die das Ganze umschattenden
Flügel, was ist es anders, als das Bild, das die Orphiker aufgenommen
hatten, das Bild des göttlichen Wesens, das die Welt hervorbringt, trägt
und hält?65
It is worth remarking that the uraeus emblem is depicted pn the title page
of at least two works on Nietzsche, and the eagle and serpent motif appears
äs a title page colophon in Carl Bernoulli's Franz Overbeck und Friedrich
Nietzsche: Eine Freundschaft (1908) and Richard Blunck's Friedrich Nietz-
sche: Kindheit und Jugend (1953).66 Nietzsche's prime symbol of individ-
uation, the Übermensch, does not, understandably, lend itself to vivid,
pictorial representation, but were such a being to have a hefaldic device, it
might well take the form of the uraeus, eagle and serpent conjoined,
bearing the motto: "Nur wer sich wandelt, bleibt mit mir verwandt."

Bild." Heidegger, Nietzsche I, 299, Heidegger is referring specifically. to the first

appearance of eagle and serpent in the Vorrede* (SA II, pp. 290—291).
64
Howey, p. 1. See also Count Goblet d'Alviella, The Migration of Symbols (London,
1894), p. 204 ff. The uraeus is obviously linked to the caduceus (see notes 29, 30, 31
and 33 above).
65
Creuzer, II; 226. .
6
I am indebted to Dr. Earl Nitschke for providing this Information. For illustrations
see p. 259. The other two works are: Waclawa Berenta (trans.), Tako Rzecze Zaratu-
stra (1908), and A. R. Orage, The Dionysian Spirit of the Aar (1906).