What does 'Art raises its head where creeds relax' by Frederic Nietsche mean?

Answer 1

Nietsche is suggesting here that creeds, i.e. religious beliefs (or more broadly any sort of dogmatic system of conformity), stifle artistic expression by limiting the human creative potential. Good art generally requires free exploration without fear or concealment. Violent drama and strife do tend to inspire art, but according to Nietsche the ideal environment for the production of art is a liberal society where artists can work for their own sake without fear of retribution. To cite briefly an example from history, look at Athens and Sparta, the two greatest city-states in Hellenic Greece. Sparta, founded on militaristic discipline and physical perfection, eventually conquered Athens, but before this Athens, a liberal, cosmopolitan democracy, produced some of the greatest works of art (think Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles) in letters, architecture, etc. ever seen in the world.