Hubris

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Hubris (Greek ὕβρις) is the human character flaw of excessive pride, arrogance or presumption. In ancient Greek tragedy, hubris further included defiance toward the gods, which invariably resulted in the individual's eventual destruction (known as nemesis).

In addition to being a major convention of Greek tragedy, hubris was more broadly considered to be the act of one human degrading or mistreating another, and was a serious criminal offense for which the defendant could be punished with death.[1]

References

  1. Aristotle, Rhetoric (ed. J. H. Freese). Retrieved on 2007-02-26.