The Greek word that best aligns with the definition of pride is hubris. However, this word doesn’t match the English idea of pride perfectly. Hubris in Greek culture involved not just arrogance or excessive self-confidence, but it also entailed the overstepping of one’s boundaries. Often, these were boundaries of relationships between mortals and gods. Violating them brought down the anger of the gods, who could punish the offending mortals in a wide variety of ways. Hubris plays a critical role in many Greek myths as it brings about the downfall of countless humans.
Hubris is one of the major plot mechanisms in Homer’s Odyssey. As Odysseus struggled to return home (due to hubris of his own), his home in Ithaca became overrun by suitors hoping to marry his wife. The idea of xenia, or hospitality towards guests, was extremely important in Greek culture, but the guests were expected to not take advantage of this hospitality. The suitors did abuse xenia though, overstaying for years and eating all of the household’s food (Homer, Lombardo, & Murnaghan, 2000, p. 245-254). Since the gods enforce these laws, not respecting xenia was an act of hubris that warranted their punishment. The gods allowed Odysseus to kill each of the suitors when he finally returned home (Homer, Lombardo, & Murnaghan, 2000, p. 437-453).
Another example of Greek hubris comes from the myth of Oedipus by Sophocles. Oedipus overstepped his bounds by attempting to escape his own fate. In Greek mythology, one’s fate couldn’t even be changed by the gods. Instead of accepting the prophecy that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus tried to deny his fate by permanently leaving his adopted home (Sophocles, Thomas, Moliken, & Osborne, 2005, p. 38). These actions, unfortunately, led to his own undoing as he unwittingly killed his birth father and married his birth mother (Sophocles et al., 2005, p. 52-53). Upon learning the truth, Oedipus blinded himself in shame and as an acknowledgement of his hubris (Sophocles et al., 2005, p. 54-60).
By comparison, pride in LDS culture tends to involve the offender considering themselves better than the people around them. Dieter F. Uchdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS church, discussed pride from an LDS perspective in his talk “Pride and the Priesthood.” In Christianity, the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. Uchdorf notes that a prideful person violates these commandments, loving themselves more than those around them and worshipping themselves more than God (Uchtdorf 2010).
In this sense, LDS pride is similar to Greek hubris in that a prideful person places themselves above God or the gods. However, LDS pride also involves the person placing themselves above their peers, while to the Greeks this trait was not seen as negative. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles committed hubris not when he boasted that he was the greatest fighter in the war, but when he violated the codes of the gods by acts such as ignoring Hector’s supplication and desecrating his body (Homer, Lombardo, & Murnaghan, 2000, p. 245-254). This shows that the two societies have similarities but also important differences in regard to how they view pride.
REFERENCES
Homer, Lombardo, S., & Murnaghan, S. (2000). The essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Sophocles, Thomas, J. E., Moliken, P., & Osborne, E. (2005). Oedipus Rex. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House.
Uchtdorf, D. F. (n.d.). Pride and the Priesthood - Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
It is incredible that cultures as different as Ancient Greek and Mormon are so similar in their concept of pride. You explained how hubris is not just "pride" but an excessive and arrogant pride that eventually offends the gods. Then you offered those great examples of Greek heroes offending the gods with their hubris which led to their trials. These examples reminded me of this same pattern you see in Mormonism. All the lessons you have in seminary and Sunday School on the pride cycle as a people become so wicked until they are finally destroyed. I also agree with your point that while there are a lot of commonalities between the Greek and Mormon view of pride there are also differences. Like you said pride was not always a negative in Greek society, but in the Mormon culture any kind of pride in ones own achievements would be viewed as a sin.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you defined hubris as "overstepping one's boundaries." In the back of my copy of Oedipus Rex, I read that the word "hubris" was seems to have been used originally to cultivated plants that grew beyond their designated boundaries, and was later taken to metaphorically refer to humans, an idea that you captured splendidly. I also agree with how you contrasted Greek hubris (or overstepping one's boundaries) with the pride the prophets warn against, in which a person compares himself or herself with others in a self-elevating way. I also think that while while hubris in Greek society was an ACT associated with a state of anger, I tend to think that pride is often more of an attitude. Hubris is a physical or verbal way to shame someone as inferior, whereas pride can take place right inside our head. I think it is fascinating how important comparison was to the Greeks! Everything they did was about honor and becoming the best, as shown by Achilles calling Agamemnon out for his laziness. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYour gives a very good explanation on what pride is. I really like your examples, it helps the audience to better understand what Greek pride means for us. You also gives an example on pride in LDS tradition. I think that people need to know that pride violates God's commandments and stop them from progressing. Overall, your essay looks excellent. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI like your introduction! Very concise and very relatable since everyone experiences pride.
ReplyDeleteYou described hubris very clearly and the examples from the Odyssey back up your definition quite nicely.
Your post inspired the thought whether the Greeks also had a form of love “gods” over all things and love your neighbor (Xenia). Maybe they don’t state it explicitly but they could very well live by similar standards.
Great read thanks for your post!