The Negative Effects of Hubris in The Odyssey by Homer

As soon as Odysseus and his remaining men have left the island he quickly discloses himself as the great Odysseus (9. 561-3). Yet again the temptation to declare himself as the almighty Odysseus has become apparent. This would prove to be one of the worst ideas that Odysseus ever had. For if he had never revealed himself, Polyphemus’ father, Poseidon, would not know who to take revenge on for his blind son. Therefore stopping the majority of Odysseus’ trials from ever having to happen.

Odysseus did this because he was wanted to stab the eye of the Cyclops with the massive mast causing Polyphemus to be blind. When Odysseus told Polyphemus his name was Nohbdy, it was beneficial because when the Cyclops tried to tell someone that Nohbdy hurt him, everyone believed that he was fine. No one knew that Polyphemus was actually hurt because they thought there was no one who could have hurt him. Odysseus was being clever and thought of a plan that led no one having knowledge of what he had done. Odysseus is also described as easily tempted. Odysseus shows that he is easily tempted by staying different places throughout his wanderings for longer than he should. If he wasn’t tempted then he might have been able to go home to his family quicker and he wouldn’t have had to go through everything he

How would a person feel being away from their homeland for ten years with no communication with the ones they love? In the epic poem of Homer’s The Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus, makes his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus angers Poseidon for blinding his son and he goes through many years of turmoil while struggling to return home. Odysseus battles the obstacles he faces and eventually returns to Ithaca to claim back the throne. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ arrogance is demonstrated throughout the book when he interacts with the Phaeacians, the cyclops, and his son Telemachus, thus proving to be a static character through his thoughts and actions.

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

The Beguiler 　　Odysseus is the main protagonist of The Odyssey. He is a commander of solders, a trickster, and often described as wily. Odysseus is not a character who one should trust, but his undeniable charm and quick wit allow him to convince others to do his bidding. Despite his talents for manipulation Odysseus’s overconfidence ensnares him in the wrathful entrapping of the god Poseidon. Through hardship he earns Odysseus learns from his tribulations, changing from a cocky and roguish beguiler into a man who is slightly more careful when choosing a course of action.

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” Saint Augustine of Hippo states that pride can corrupt even the most pure of things, and that humility can make people pure themselves. Although Odysseus may not be a pure and all-good character, he experiences both the corruption of pride and the redemption of humility. Over the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus experiences unnecessary excessive pride and faces the consequences of it, but then begins to control and suppress his emotions.

In the novel The Odyssey written by Homer, the main character Odysseus appears to be very arrogant. Throughout the story, Odysseus undertakes many challenging tasks that illuminate his true character. During these times, he displays very haughty and conceited behavior. This can be seen in several events in the story. The first incident that proves that Odysseus is arrogant is when he handles his ship on his own for 9 days.

Upon reaching his ship outside the cave, Odysseus arrogantly yells back his real name to the Cyclops who happens to be son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Odysseus’ taunting and desire for Polyphemus to know who truly tricked him greatly angers Polyphemus and causes trouble from Poseidon later on. While escaping, Odysseus yells, “if ever a mortal man inquire/ how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye.” (Homer 417-419) Odysseus should have rowed away as quickly as possible before any more trouble was roused. He would have been better off to not have given in to the fatal characteristic of hubris, but to have simply been satisfied by his own dignity. Using leadership qualities such as humility and humbleness would have saved him many seafaring troubles due to Poseidon wrath such as stranding him on Calypso’s island for 7 years. If Odysseus had not been prideful, his journey home would have been much shorter and he wouldn’t have eventually lost all of his

This instance is one where hubris and arete can be shown as Odysseus’ motivators. Arete is very important to greek heroes, and sometimes hubris comes right along with it. This being when Odysseus yells back to the blinded cyclops, telling him that Odysseus, the king of Ithaca is the one who blinded Polyphemus. “Cyclops, if any one of mortal men shall ask thee about the shameful blinding of thine eye, say that Odysseus, the sacker of cities, blinded it, even the son of Laertes, whose home is in Ithaca” (Homer, Odyssey, 9:502-505). This here explains that Odysseus just created a major issue for him and the other ships with him. This greatly angered Poseidon, and so Poseidon made is he could never get home. This myth here shows us again that if Odysseus would have never yelled out his name, his fleet would have made it safe home. Instead they all suffered and roamed the seas for many years. This example lets the reader know that you should win your battles without expressing too much

Also, when Odysseus and his men were escaping from the Cyclops, Odysseus allowed his “anger [to] flare and yelled:/‘Cyclops,/if ever 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!’” (456-460) Odysseus’ pride momentarily distracted him from his end goal and he took credit for the Cyclops’ blindness, provoking Polyphemus, the Cyclops, to send Odysseus and his crew the gods’ punishment. If Odysseus had not been prideful and didn’t cause Polyphemus to pray to the gods, the gods would not have killed all of Odysseus’ men. In addition, when creating a plan to defeat the suitors, Odysseus tells his son, Telemachus, no matter what the suitors do, to “‘let [his] ribs cage

The importance of Hubris to the Greeks is made obvious by how often it appears as a main theme in their myths. Three stories that show examples of hubris are Oedipus The King, Antigone, and The Story of Phaethon in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Pride is a feeling of satisfaction for one’s accomplishments, yet excessive pride, or hubris, negatively influences one’s fate. Hubris is within every person to some extent and is found within the heroes and villains of several modern and classical stories, such as The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and Of Mice and Men. In these stories, Odysseus, Mercutio, and Curley suffer from hubris which prompts their path from fortune to misfortune, or peripeteia. In The Odyssey, Odysseus gains a sense of perfection after his countless heroic deeds in the Trojan War and beyond, yet he oversteps his limitations which lead him toward more conflicts.

For example, when Odysseus defeated the cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus’ arrogance and self-pride showed when he boasted about himself to the cyclops making sure that the blinded Polyphemus would remember Odysseus’ name and how he defeated him; Odysseus’ narcissism was later on the cause of the death of all of his men and was the cause of Odysseus’ horrible ten year long journey to reach Ithaca and his family, for Poseidon didn’t forget and forgive Odysseus’ for what he had done to his son, Polyphemus. Also, Odysseus’ ability to lie and cheat his way out of many situations proves to be an immoral quality of his although this ability saves him at

In the Odyssey, Homer portrays Odysseus as a strong, courageous leader who not only uses his physical strength, but also, his wit to problem solve and defeat his opponents. While Odysseus possesses many valuable traits that help him become the great leader he is, he also has one major character flaw--his hubris. Through his long trek back home to his wife and estate in the Odyssey, we see Odysseus slowly grow as a person and become slightly more humbled and less stubborn. Odysseus does not lose his hubris by the end of his journey, however, there is definitely a change in his decision makings.

Has your pride ever caused unimaginable consequences for yourself? That’s what happens to many characters in The Odyssey, their pride causes them to be rude, and in turn, causes other characters to want revenge on them. The other Characters getting revenge, usually meant killing them in ancient Greece, which is a huge consequence they could have avoided. The Odyssey by Homer uses pride to create the entire plot of the book because all the problems throughout the story were because of pride.Odysseus not being able to get home was the entire plot of the book and was caused by his pride so it's obviously something homer found really important. Having a lot of pride causes other characters to seek revenge on them, and ultimately causes most of the problems in The Odyssey.