Q:

On the usage of nach / hinter / zu

In Der Pfennig by Hans Eckart, there is also the following sentence:

Eines Tages war der Vater nach der Arbeit sehr müde.

Except for nach der Arbeit, all is clear to me: One day, father was very tired.
But what does nach der Arbeit mean in this context?

A:

In this context, „nach“ is temporal: he was tired after work.
Other meanings of „nach“ include:

Directionality: „Ich fahre nach Berlin“ (… going to Berlin)
Order in a sequence or chain: „die Fünf kommt nach der Vier“ (after)
also „Bitte nach Ihnen“ (politely asking another person to go first)
Consequence: „Nach dieser Beobachtung ist das klar“ (With this observation it is now clear)
also „nach Adam Riese“ (following [the works of] Adam Riese)

„Hinter“ is spatial, usually in a two-dimensional sense (as opposed to the more one-dimensional „nach“ in a sequence). A bit like “behind”, as opposed to “after”.
„Zu“ has a number of meanings. But in a directional sense, it is used for people and events, whereas „nach“ is used for places with proper names. „Ich fahre zu der Oma“ or „Ich fahre zu einem Konzert“.

