Narcissism: An Ancient Mythic Greece Man

“Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” says the writer C.S lewis. Indeed this is evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus The King. The rather disturbing events that takes place during the play. The pride of Oedipus, the tragic hero of the play, sets off a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided if Oedipus kept his pride in check. However, he can not and his ego inflates to the point his persona can only be described as a mental disorder. Through analyzing Oedipus’ behaviour and his interactions with the other characters in the play, it can be concluded that he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Hubris is defined as "excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance" (Dictionary.com). Hubris is a common flaw in tragic heroes; Achilles, Hector, Oedipus, and Creon all displayed hubris. Despite any redeeming qualities these men may display, hubris is the dominating personality trait. In Greek tragedy the heroes strive for glory and recognition in order to feed their hubris, and their hubris only causes other flaws, such as obstinacy, egotism, and narcissism, therefore hubris is the most destructive trait of the Greek tragic hero. This destructive trait can be seen in Achilles' rage and betrayal, Hector's need to prove his worth, Oedipus's relentless desire to solve the mysteries of the past, and Creon's inability to admit his mistake.

The Greeks believed in eight evil thoughts that affected one’s morality. During the episode of “The Cyclops” in epic The Odyssey, some of these thoughts are displayed through Odysseus as he takes the eye of the cyclops and steals the cyclops’ farm animals. Odysseus displays Hyperephania (narcissism) and Kenodoxia (boasting) through his actions in this episode. Boasting is not bad in moderation, however, too much boastfulness can cause someone to be unmindful of others and become completely full of themselves, which can lead to narcissism. Being narcissistic can cause someone to stop paying attention to the well being of others, and make them oblivious to the world around them.

The essay that makes this argument more effective is essay 2, "Changes in Narcissism" by Jean M. Twenge. Narcissism has been identified as a negative personality on people such as being focused on themselves and lack of empathy towards other people. Narcissists believe they have higher standards than others and have a hostile attitude. There are many different types of narcissists. Essay 2 best effects how narcissists are very difficult to interact with there self-centered personalities and there aggressive behavior has crossed the line.

Do you know the story of Narcissus? He was the very handsome fellow in Greek mythology who, because of his indifference and disdain toward others, was punished by the gods by falling in love with his own image. He was so enraptured by his beauty that he was unable to pull himself away from his own reflection, and he wasted away and died. Narcissism is also considered a social and cultural problem in America. It’s not surprising to see a rise in narcissism in this generation given that young people are being bombarded by these messages and sorts of commercial all day, every day through every form of media.

The definition of arrogance is overbearing pride. I see arrogance almost everywhere I go: the store, church, school, and on the street. Arrogance could be disguised as self reliance, but you need to be able to know when you need help, and be able to accept it. Those who do not accept help and are too arrogant, which is a sin. Many of the Greek myths, some of my family members, and myself sometimes have arrogance.

Hubris is a very popular theme in Greek mythology. Hubris was a very important moral concept to the Greeks. Committing hubris was a very serious crime. Hubris is defined as having extreme pride or arrogance. Pride became hubris when it became all consuming or hurtful to others. Other actions that were seen as hubris were acting as if you were equal or more powerful than the gods, or trying to defy them. Hubris was a severe crime that deserved a serious punishment, and it was the downfall of many characters in ancient myths.

Hubris is a Greek name that signifies a personality quality that possesses overconfidence, foolish pride. In the typical Greek, Hubris describes the characters of challenges and behaviors that gods send to an individual to imply nemesis or downfall. Hubristic is considered a personal characteristic not as a group (Russell 18). However, the group, which the offender belongs, may suffer similar consequences gods in the occurrence of the wrongful act. Furthermore, hubris shows the detachment from reality and overestimation of achievements, capabilities, and competence (Roman and Monica 16). Conversely, the quality is not associated with conventional expectation such as high esteem. Instead, it relates to variable self-esteem and inflated personal perception in the modest reality (Hansen 73). Regarding the above undesirable characteristics, the Greek and Roman mythologies do not like associating themselves with the quality (Hansen and William 34). The paper will use appropriate examples derived from the lessons to analyze the disadvantages of hubris as perceived in their mythologies.

Laureen Jean-Jacques Mr. Brennen Literary Genres December 17, 2015 The Danger of Hubris Hubris is one of the worst traits one can display in the world of ancient Greece and invariably brings the worst kind of destruction. In many myths, mortals who display arrogance or hubris end up learning, in quite brutal way, the foolishness of this overexertion of ego. The Greek concept of hubris refers to the strong pride of humans who hold themselves equals to the gods, in this case the Greek gods. Hubris, is a great concern to the Greek gods.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Narcissistic Personality Disorder, also known as narcissism, dates back to ancient Greece. The term Narcissism comes from an old Greek myth of a young hunter named Narcissus. He was from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was the son of a river god named Cephissus and a nymph named Liriope. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. One day Narcissus was walking in the woods when Echo, an Oread, or mountain nymph, saw him, fell deeply in love, and followed him. Narcissus sensed he was being followed and shouted “Who’s there?”. Echo

Now the problem with vanity or narcissistic is people tend to push their views of themselves or other matters on others. These views can tend to have others do some of the most extreme things, as what we read in

Narcissus first shows his shallowness when he falls in love with the supposed nymph who turns out to be his own reflection. He falls in love with it as it is -as the text states “His surprise and joy at the sight of what he felt sure must be the most beautiful creature on earth, was evidently shared by the nymph of the pool, who gazed back at him. When Narcissus smiled at her, her red lips also parted in a smile. He stretched out his arms towards her, and her arms were stretched to him. Almost trembling in his delight, he slowly stooped to kiss her.” This is shallow as he tries to kiss the first face he sees & thinks is the most beautiful. Another time Narcissus shows his shallowness is when he begs the reflection to love him. The story describes this moment as Narcissus’ longing of unsatisfied love. A final time Narcissus is shallow is when he let the beauty affect him by his mourning for the hopeless love & he actually died from his shallowness. In the final analysis, Naricissus’ shallowness disseminates that the author believes that you shouldn’t judge a person by how they look & you should be careful of

Care of the Soul Thomas Moore vividly and intensely describes ways to care for the soul. He uses many examples of his own and other people’s experiences. Care of the Soul is a healthy read that instructs one on ways to productively dive into themselves and find their inner soul. The soul that Moore refers to must be cared for in a delicate manner and never neglected. “When the soul is neglected, it doesn’t just go away; it appears symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, violence, and loss of meaning.”

Do narcissists exist? Does anyone have these kinds of thoughts that are highly willing to accept praises or be satisfied by other’s attention? If the answer is yes, someone probably has narcissistic personalities. A narcissistic person, who admires himself or herself too much, will easily encounter failure. Unrealistic thinking, fear of failure and excessive self-love are three qualities inhabiting a narcissistic person from being successful.

Despite being married to a narcissist, I have learned from the experience and have grown in my own personal development. The knowledge I have gained about this disorder has helped me manage more effective cooping skills. Narcissism is a personality disorder, it is associated with sociopath disorder, because they are greedy, selfish, and lack empathy. People who have narcissistic personality disorder think they are never wrong and are superior to everyone else. In my experience narcissistic traits may even include physical and mental abuse.