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Chapter 2 - Lucky Fools

Luck, Risk and Merit in the Ancient Greek Concept of Hybris

from Part I - Hybris in Classical Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

By
Douglas Cairns
Edited by
Douglas Cairns  and
Nick Bouras
With
Eugene Sadler-Smith
Foreword by
David Owen
Douglas Cairns
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Nick Bouras
Affiliation:
King's College London
Eugene Sadler-Smith
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
David Owen
Affiliation:
The Daedalus Trust
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Summary

Aristotle defines hybris as a way of mistreating (dishonouring) others. But he also emphasises its psychology, in ways that chime very well with the understanding of the concept in earlier literary sources. As well as indicating a failure to show other people the respect they deserve, hybris is a way of thinking too much of oneself. This affects one’s estimation of the role that luck plays in all human endeavour: the classic Aristotelian case is that of the rich, ‘lucky fools’ who think that their material good fortune is a sign that they excel in all respects; but ancient hybristai in general tend to develop the belief that they are invulnerable to the vagaries of fortune. In this way, hybris regularly entails a failure to deal adequately with risk. At the same time, it bears a relation to the myth of meritocracy, by which the fortunate convince themselves that their success is deserved.

Keywords

hybrisluckriskAristotleHerodotusAeschylusmeritmeritocracy

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Type
Chapter
Information
Hubris, Ancient and Modern
Concepts, Comparisons, Connections
 , pp. 57 - 68
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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