Hubris (/ˈhjuːbrɪs/, also hybris, from ancient Greek ὕβρις) in religious terms means extreme pride or self-confidence that leads to offence spoken or done towards the God(s), usually harshly punished after. This religious meaning is sometimes transferred to denote overall highly unacceptable, arrogant and insulting behaviour that confronts ethical norms in a way that reminds one of the act described in Ancient Tragedies.
Hubris is usually perceived as a characteristic of an individual rather than a group, although the group the offender belongs to may suffer consequences from the wrongful act. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact withreality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.
The adjectival form of the noun hubris is "hubristic".
Ancient Greek origin[edit]
In ancient Greek, hubris referred to actions that shamed and humiliated the victim for the pleasure or gratification of the abuser.[1] The term had a strong sexual connotation, and the shame reflected on the perpetrator as well.[2]
Violations of the law against hubris included what might today be termed assault and battery; sexual crimes; or the theft of public or sacred property. Two well-known cases are found in the speeches of Demosthenes, a prominent statesman and orator in ancient Greece. These two examples occurred when first Midias punched Demosthenes in the face in the theatre (Against Midias), and second when (in Against Conon) a defendant allegedly assaulted a man and crowed over the victim. Yet another example of hubris appears in Aeschines Against Timarchus, where the defendant, Timarchus, is accused of breaking the law of hubris by submitting himself to prostitution and anal intercourse. Aeschines brought this suit against Timarchus to bar him from the rights of political office and his case succeeded.[3]
In Greek literature, hubris usually refers to infractions by mortals against other mortals. Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a religious matter, still less that it was normally punished by the gods.[citation needed]
Aristotle defined hubris as shaming the victim, not because of anything that happened to a person or might happen to a person, but merely for that person's own gratification.[4] Hubris is not the requital of past injuries—that is revenge. As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is the following: People think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the greater.
Crucial to this definition are the ancient Greek concepts of honour (τιμή, timē) and shame (αἰδώς, aidōs). The concept of honor included not only the exaltation of the one receiving honour, but also the shaming of the one overcome by the act of hubris. This concept of honor is akin to a zero-sum game. Rush Rehm simplifies this definition to the contemporary concept of "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence".