4 ms·

I find solace knowing that ego and hubris will always be a force inside those with the agency to do really dumb things. And what a story.

HenryBemis 3y ago
I was looking for Hubris and Nemesis and I found this: ὓβρις→ἂτη→νέμεσις→τίσις (google translation from an article in Greek language)(https://www.capital.gr/o-kostas-stoupas-grafei/2208004/ubris-atis-nemesis-kai-tisis/ https://www.capital.gr/o-kostas-stoupas-grafei/2208004/ubris...) Hubris was a basic concept of the worldview of the ancient Greeks. When someone, overestimating his abilities and power (physical [1], but mainly political [2], military [3] and economic[4]), behaved violently, arrogantly and offensively towards others, the laws of the state and above all against the unwritten divine law -which imposed limits on human action-, he was considered to have committed "infamy", i.e. he presented behavior in which he attempted to transcend his mortal nature and assimilate himself to the gods [5], consequently the insulting and exasperating them. This violent, insolent and arrogant attitude/behavior, which for the ancient Greek world was a violation of the moral order and an attempt to overturn the social balance and the order of the world in general, was believed to (repeatedly, and even after warnings from the gods themselves [ 6]) ultimately led to the downfall and destruction of the "insolent"[7] insolence > revile > revile). Attributing the concept of hubris and its consequences, as at least presented in its most ancient form, with the scheme hubris→ati→nemesis→tisis [8] we can say that the ancients believed that a "hubris"[9] usually caused the intervention of the gods, and especially of Zeus, who sent to the insulter the "aten"[10], i.e. the cloudiness, the blindness of the mind. This, in turn, led the insulter to new insults, until he committed a very great folly, fell into a very serious error, which caused "nemesin"[11], the wrath and revenge of the gods, which brought about the "tisin"[12], i.e. his punishment and crushing/destruction. From the classical era onwards, in many cases the concepts of Atis, Judgment and Nemesis seem to acquire in the consciousness of people an equivalent meaning, that of divine punishment. The word Úbrís beyond the words its modern Greek use with the meanings "curses" (mainly in the plural "Úvreis") and consequent "something that affects someone's honor and dignity" -which are normal developments of the ancient meaning-, several sometimes it is also used in our time, at a more careful level of discourse, with its ancient Greek meaning to characterize similar arrogant behaviors of our fellow human beings.
- rtaylorgarlock 3y ago
  Am I the only one here who feels an irrational draw towards language which aren't my first? I can't be the only one :D 1) Interesting for me to recall Hellenistic philosophy, which I've read somewhere in the past was one of the earliest or first places humans were taught / realized that "I" am worth education, healthcare, access to athletics and entertainment, etc. Alexander the great, right? Happy to be corrected. 2) Further really interesting to read the flow you present from hubris→tisis. In my mind, [1] above doesn't wholly negate the idea of 'the gods' + demigods being the arbiters of justice and consequences, but that's not what I'm focused on: how interesting to see even so far back the idea that our negative actions towards others and against the boundaries set by the gods will return to us to the point of harming us, even to the point of 'tisin?' I'm laughing at how much fun my brain is having at parsing all of this!

HenryBemis 3y ago

I was looking for Hubris and Nemesis and I found this: ὓβρις→ἂτη→νέμεσις→τίσις (google translation from an article in Greek language)(https://www.capital.gr/o-kostas-stoupas-grafei/2208004/ubris-atis-nemesis-kai-tisis/ https://www.capital.gr/o-kostas-stoupas-grafei/2208004/ubris...) Hubris was a basic concept of the worldview of the ancient Greeks. When someone, overestimating his abilities and power (physical [1], but mainly political [2], military [3] and economic[4]), behaved violently, arrogantly and offensively towards others, the laws of the state and above all against the unwritten divine law -which imposed limits on human action-, he was considered to have committed "infamy", i.e. he presented behavior in which he attempted to transcend his mortal nature and assimilate himself to the gods [5], consequently the insulting and exasperating them. This violent, insolent and arrogant attitude/behavior, which for the ancient Greek world was a violation of the moral order and an attempt to overturn the social balance and the order of the world in general, was believed to (repeatedly, and even after warnings from the gods themselves [ 6]) ultimately led to the downfall and destruction of the "insolent"[7] insolence > revile > revile). Attributing the concept of hubris and its consequences, as at least presented in its most ancient form, with the scheme hubris→ati→nemesis→tisis [8] we can say that the ancients believed that a "hubris"[9] usually caused the intervention of the gods, and especially of Zeus, who sent to the insulter the "aten"[10], i.e. the cloudiness, the blindness of the mind. This, in turn, led the insulter to new insults, until he committed a very great folly, fell into a very serious error, which caused "nemesin"[11], the wrath and revenge of the gods, which brought about the "tisin"[12], i.e. his punishment and crushing/destruction. From the classical era onwards, in many cases the concepts of Atis, Judgment and Nemesis seem to acquire in the consciousness of people an equivalent meaning, that of divine punishment. The word Úbrís beyond the words its modern Greek use with the meanings "curses" (mainly in the plural "Úvreis") and consequent "something that affects someone's honor and dignity" -which are normal developments of the ancient meaning-, several sometimes it is also used in our time, at a more careful level of discourse, with its ancient Greek meaning to characterize similar arrogant behaviors of our fellow human beings.

rtaylorgarlock 3y ago
Am I the only one here who feels an irrational draw towards language which aren't my first? I can't be the only one :D 1) Interesting for me to recall Hellenistic philosophy, which I've read somewhere in the past was one of the earliest or first places humans were taught / realized that "I" am worth education, healthcare, access to athletics and entertainment, etc. Alexander the great, right? Happy to be corrected. 2) Further really interesting to read the flow you present from hubris→tisis. In my mind, [1] above doesn't wholly negate the idea of 'the gods' + demigods being the arbiters of justice and consequences, but that's not what I'm focused on: how interesting to see even so far back the idea that our negative actions towards others and against the boundaries set by the gods will return to us to the point of harming us, even to the point of 'tisin?' I'm laughing at how much fun my brain is having at parsing all of this!