The Danger Of Hubris In Ancient Greece

Hubris in The Odyssey In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, was trying to make his journey to Ithaca. Odysseus encounters several of difficult situations where he has to step up and be a leader for his crew. Odysseus is constantly acting as a great hero; however, he also acts upon his excessive pride. As a result he faces several consequences.

Throughout the epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus has been characterized as an epic hero. A characteristic of odysseus that makes him an epic hero is that he has hubris. An example of him having hubris is when after the men escape and blind the cyclops polyphemus odysseus states “If ever a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye Laertes son whose home's on ithaca”(409-412). Odysseus is bragging about how he blinded polyphemus and wanted him to tell anyone who asked about his eye that it was he who did it. The theme hospitality plays a big role throughout the epic poem. The reason that Odysseus had to blind the cyclops is that he killed some of the crew

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold”. Hubris causes excessive arrogance in people, and can lead to their downfall. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, a prideful warrior, tries to get back home to the island of Ithaca. Odysseus’ hubris ends up leading to many problems for himself and his crew. Hubris played a negative role in The Odyssey due to Odysseus revealing his identity to Polyphemus, not telling his crew about Aeolus’ bag of winds, and staying with Circe for a year.

Background: Ancient Greece was a civilization that existed from the 8th - 6th Century BC, also called the Archaic Period, to the end of antiquity, around 600 AD. It is most famous for its philosophers, artwork and mythology. They worshiped their deities such as Zeus, Hades and Poseidon…. Their major demise came at the hands of the Macedonians in 338 BC after Greece had been weakened by the Peloponnesian War. A war between the Spartans and the Athenians leaving the Spartans victorious but exhausted of their resources and men.

In Greek mythology, hubris means to have excessive self confidence or pride. In The Odyssey, we often see Odysseus getting into trouble because of his hubris. There are many examples where this flaw is exhibited. These include when Odysseus defeats the cyclops Polyphemus, when he and his crew sail past the sirens, and when he got the bag of winds from Aeolus. Hubris leads him to disregard the Gods, and make unwise decisions because his pride blinds him of his ability to see the consequences in making those choices. Odysseus’ hubris also makes his trip home harder and longer than it had to be.

In Homer's epic, The Iliad, there are many great characters, both mortal and immortal. However, no characters seem to match the greatness and importance of Achilles, the mightiest of the Greeks and Hector, Trojan prince and mightiest of the Trojans. Although they are the mightiest of their forces, their attitudes and motives for the Greek-Trojan war are completely different.

The Odyssey gives a great outlook on how a person can develop through time as well as how one’s actions can cause the trouble later and lead to unfortunate circumstances. In the book, there are several cases when Hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance as characteristic of a particular, is shown by different figures. Consequently, this is often followed by Nemesis, as justice has to be determined by the gods for the actions taken to maintain a heroic status, most of the time in form of a punishment. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Hubris is exhibited by the main character and hero, Odysseus, in the Ancient Greek world, who proves it by his self-confidence in his adventures. Homer uses inter alia alliterations, similes, concrete details, and vivid imagery throughout the

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.

Current-day civilizations and current-day life have been influenced greatly by Ancient Greek culture. Most importantly, the act of challenging authority has been substantially impacted by the ancient justice systems, which authorizes the breaking of rules and makes it pardonable and respectable. Many of these acts of disobeying authority are demonstrated, in both Ancient Greek times and current times, as Gods break rules based off their wants or based off of their desire to help others, as many rulers use their power to violate rules in order to better their people, and as many every-day individuals commit crimes and are forgiven for them. It is desired and acceptable, according to Ancient Greek beliefs and values,

Pride has been known to cause many issues for those who exhibit the trait. From those of high power and influence to those with little power, pride shows no bias for those that fall victim to this quality. Excessive pride, also known as hubris, is a fatal characteristic to have and has been illustrated throughout history and in literature, causing tragedy with it’s path of turmoil. The human condition of hubris is illuminated by Sophocles in his plays, Oedipus and Antigone. Sophocles presents ideas fo the impact of hubris, such as hubris creating a god complex, creating blindness, and making people uncompromising.

Throughout history, various ideologies and approaches to life have held the ability to impact society as a whole. This notion is evident in various civilizations of the Ancient World, one of which being among the Ancient Greeks. At the time, certain Poleis had been known for an area where they excelled. For example, while Sparta was notorious for its military prowess, Athens was recognized for its emphasis on the importance of wisdom, scholastics, and the overall enlightenment of its people. In order for one to fully comprehend the rich culture of those who inhabited Greece at the time, it is important to focus on pivotal components, such as the role of philosophy and sophistry among the citizens of these Poleis.

Hubris is much pride or self-confidence. This deadly sin is displayed much throughout Odysseus’s journey. Multiple characters in The Odyssey distinctly exemplify that excessive hubris leads to consequences. Three characters that illustrate this theme are Odysseus, Irus and Ctesippus. The first character that shows excessive pride is Odysseus.

Oedipus possessed an excessive amount of pride, otherwise known to the Greeks as hubris. This was necessary for

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

“The truest characters of ignorance are pride and arrogance. This quote by Samuel Butler is truer than gold in the two greek myths Phaethon and Daedalus and Icarus. The protagonists of both stories boastful,arrogant and prideful natures lead them to their agonizing deaths and downfall. The two myths would be lifeless and stale without the use of of literary elements like conflict,imagery,and and characterization. Conflict shapes the story,Imagery foreshadows and provides color,and characterization develops the characters personalities and behaviors. These elements are how the authors were able to teach the lesson in the theme. The two stories’ main characters, Phaethon and Daedalus and Icarus share the same moral theme of a prideful disregard from those elder and wiser can quickly lead to disastrous consequences,existing thanks to these literary elements.