24 Jul Hubris
Hubris (=“ύβρις) was a basic understanding of the worldview of the ancient Greeks.When someone, overestimating the abilities and power (physical, but mainly political, military and economic), behaved in a violent, arrogant and offensive manner towards others, the laws of the state and especially against the unwritten divine law -which imposed limits on human actions, thought to have committed “hubris”, ie. exhibited behavior which attempted to overcome the mortal nature and equated with the gods, thus infringing and their raging.
That violent, insolent and arrogant attitude / behavior, which constituted for the ancient Greek world violation of moral order and an attempt to the social balance and generally world class, was considered (repetitive, and even after warnings of the gods themselves) to eventually lead to the decline and destruction of the “abuser” (=«ὑβριστοῦ»), ( (ὕβρις > ὑβρίζω > ὑβριστής).
Giving the perception of hubris (=ὕβρις) and its consequences, at least as shown in the oldest form, with the following shape; “ὓβρις→ἂτη→νέμεσις→τίσις” we can say that the Ancients believed that “hubris” usually caused the intervention of gods,and mainly the intervention of Zeus, who sent to the abuser the «ἄτην», ie the blurring,the blindness of mind. This situation led the abuser to new “hubris” until he committed a great “α-νοησία” (=stupidity), committing a very serious error, which caused “νέμεσιν”, ie. the anger and revenge of the Gods that caused «τίσιν» ,ie. his punishment and destruction.
Since the classic era and then, in many cases the concepts of “ Άτη, Δίκη and Νέμεσις” seem to acquire in the consciousness of people equal importance, that of divine punishment.
The word hubris beyond its literary modern Greek use with the meanings of “insult” and therefore “something that affects the honor and dignity of someone ‘s which are normal developments of ancient meaning -nowadays it is used in a more sophisticated level of speech, with the ancient Greek meaning to characterize our fellowmen’s arrogant behaviours.
Wikipedia
(The text is translated based on the Greek text as presented in Wikipedia)
