Abstract

As is the case with his similarly polymorphous dialogue with Socrates, Friedrich Nietzsche's career-spanning engagement with the figure of Jesus is ambivalent in the extreme. In the writings of the last year of his active life however, this self-professed “antichrist” is unwavering in his commendation of the Nazarene’s character and posture vis a vis his martyrdom. Even more remarkable is the Antichrist’s heretofore-ignored tampering with the most famous death-scene in the Western tradition. This paper examines Nietzsche's bold manipulation of the celebrated death-scenes of Jesus and Socrates, with particular attention paid to the possible relationship between his re-writing of the famed proceedings at Calvary, and his remarkably high regard for Jesus’ exit from the stage of life.