Beware of Hubris

In 1989, President Ezra Taft Benson stood in general conference and talked about an issue that had been weighing on him for some time. He was worried about the “universal sin” of pride and its venomous effects on people around the world. He aptly named the talk “Beware of Pride.” Twenty-one years later, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was inspired to reiterate President Benson’s message and spoke about “Pride and the Priesthood”. God’s ordained church leaders warn us of the dangers of pride, just as the ancient prophets did, but scriptures are not the only place we learn about pride. In Greek tradition we see in the stories of Agamemnon, the cyclops, and Oedipus that pride, or hubris, was the cause of a multitude of problems, death, and destruction. 

President Uchtdorf, borrowing from President Benson’s teachings, defined pride as sin of comparison which “breeds hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God and our fellowmen.” He teaches that it is a sin of self-elevation, of worshipping and loving ourselves instead of God and our neighbors, and that it is the original sin which caused Lucifer to fall. According to Greek tradition, hubris (or pride) was defined as excessive pride, especially against the gods. The Greeks expected everyone to have a pride in their family and their fighting ability to be able to win honor for themselves and their people, but once that pride became excessive and caused someone to pit their will against the gods, they were in trouble. They taught that a hubris person would be led to ate, or blindness (either physical or figurative), and that blindness would undoubtedly lead to catastrophe. So whereas modern LDS leaders have taught that pride is any comparison or self-elevation above others, pride was only a problem for the Greeks when hubris led them to aggressive acts that caused shame to another (Sophocles, pg. 72). In both cultures, though, the damage caused by pride is the same.

One example we see of Greek hubris is in The Iliad, where the warlord Agamemnon humiliated Achilles. Because he was offended by Achilles’ accusations, Agamemnon publicly shamed Achilles with insults and by taking his prize, the beautiful Briseis. He told Achilles that he would take her “so that you will see just how much stronger I am than you, and the next person will wince at the thought of opposing me as an equal” (pg. 6). Agamemnon put himself above all others, and this violent verbal assault shamed Achilles to the point that he abandoned the Greek forces entirely. Agamemnon received satisfaction in afflicting disgrace on Achilles, but it cost him his best warrior and the lives of many soldiers in battle. We see this destructive pattern today, too. President Uchtdorf taught, "when we focus on our own importance, power, or reputation; when we dwell upon our public image...—that’s when the trouble begins; that’s when pride begins to corrupt."

Another example of hubris is how the cyclops in The Odyssey treated Odysseus and his men. Odysseus did everything right as a guest, acting as a suppliant and bringing a gift to give to his host, but the hubris cyclops responded by saying, “You’re dumb, stranger, or from far away, if you ask me to fear the gods…since we [the cyclopes] are much stronger” (pg. 305). The cyclops not only trampled on the social traditions of the region, but he elevated himself over even the gods. In President Uchtdorf’s words, the cyclops sought “to hurt, diminish, and tear down others in a misguided and unworthy attempt at self-elevation.” He insulted his guests and ate the men two-by-two. This prideful and hubris act led to his own ate, a very physical blinding that resulted in the loss of his only eye.

One last example of Greek hubris is Oedipus as found in the book Oedipus Rex. He asks the blind prophet Teiresias who killed Laius and caused a plague in their city, but when Teiresias responds that Oedipus is the one responsible, he denies it and searches for the truth. His hamartia (“missing the mark”) is his many unfortunate misjudgments and hubris which led him public shame and self-destruction. His hubris led him to go against what the gods had prophesied, though he could not escape his fate. In a state of anger, he killed the man that he later discovered was his father. Because he had been hubris, he lost everything he loved, was led to ate (blindness), and lost all of his acquired power. In one of the last lines of the book, Creon tells Oedipus, “It is not your place to decide; the power you had has not remained with you” (pg. 64). Oedipus was obsessed with avoiding his own misfortune, but President Uchtdorf teaches us that the way to overcome our pride is by serving God and our fellow man, and thinking less about ourselves.

Just as hubris caused the destruction and death of many ancient heroes, pride continues being a very serious and debilitating problem in our world today. As President Benson said 29 years ago, “pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.” Just as hubris led to blindness and destruction of Agamemnon, the cyclops, and Oedipus, pride leads many people today to metaphysical blindness and emotional or spiritual destruction. Though pride is now accepted as the social norm, we must listen to our modern-day prophets and beware of pride.