The rebirth of myth? Nietzsche's (so-called) "Eternal Recurrence" and its romantic antecedents

There is increasing evidence of the influence of various Romantic thinkers on Nietzsche's early philosophy, especially on "The Birth of Tragedy", with its announcement or prediction of a rebirth of myth. The prophetic "Thus S poke Zarathustra", which Nietzsche introduced with the words "tragedy begin s", expresses his later philosophy, particularly his central doctrine of th e Eternal Recurrence, in symbols, parables, and riddles, suggesting an atte mpt at mythopoeia. However, the critical, ironic, and parodying elements in Nietzsche's later philosophy have led to its characterization as "antimyth ". This essay demonstrates that Nietzsche's idea and symbolism of the Etern al Recurrence as a temporal cycle of opposites represented by various forms of the circle, especially the ouroborus or serpent biting its own tail, an d associated with Zoroaster, Heraclitus, and Dionysus, was influenced by th e tradition of Romantic mythology. Before the publication of "The Birth of Tragedy", Nietzsche encountered the writings of Johann Jakob Bachofen and F riedrich Creuzer, where the cycle of opposites is identified as a specifica lly mythic idea, which developed later into a philosophy, as metonymically represented in the relationship between the myth-maker Zoroaster and the ph ilosopher Heraclitus. In "The Birth of Tragedy", the cycle of opposites bec ame for Nietzsche a symbol of the unity of myth and philosophy, and the reb irth of the former from the self-overcoming of the latter. This symbol cont inued to serve Nietzsche throughout his career as a model for his own devel opment as a philosopher. The Eternal Recurrence appears to have been his ow n attempt to unite myth and philosophy, through the transformation of an or iginally Romantic mythological idea into its opposite, and the adoption of a symbolic and "mythic" style of expression.