Hubris (pronounced /ˈhjuːbrɪs/; from Ancient Greek ὕβρις (húbris) meaning "pride, insolence, outrage") or sometimes spelled hybris (pronounced /ˈhaɪbrɪs/), refers to very high pride or overconfidence that can be risky. It is often linked to arrogance, which is an exaggerated belief in one's own importance or abilities.

Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are connected to a strong desire to win or succeed, even if it does not always lead to victory. These traits may contrast with efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully, which groups that value harmony might encourage. While hubris is usually seen as a personal quality, the actions of someone with hubris can cause harm to the group they belong to. Hubris often shows a lack of understanding about real situations and an incorrect belief in one's own skills or achievements.

The word "hubris" comes from Ancient Greek, where it had different meanings depending on the situation. In legal matters, it referred to crimes like assault, theft of public property, or sexual offenses. In religious contexts, it meant acting like a god or breaking rules that were meant for gods.

Ancient Greek origin

In ancient Greek, the word "hubris" meant "outrage" — actions that broke the natural order or caused shame and humiliation to someone, often for the pleasure of the person who harmed them.

Hesiod and Aeschylus used "hubris" to describe actions that went against the gods. One common form of hubris was when a human claimed to be better than a god in a skill or ability. These claims were often punished. For example, Arachne, a skilled weaver, was turned into a spider after she claimed her weaving was better than the goddess Athena’s. Other examples include Icarus, Phaethon, Salmoneus, Niobe, Cassiopeia, Tantalus, and Tereus.

The goddess Hybris, as described in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, is linked to "insolent encroachment upon the rights of others."

These events were not only in myths. In real life, some people were punished for hubris because of their arrogance. For example, King Xerxes I, as shown in Aeschylus’s play The Persians, allegedly punished the Hellespont Sea by throwing chains into it after his fleet was destroyed.

What all these examples have in common is breaking limits. The Greeks believed the Fates (Μοῖραι) had given each person a specific area of freedom that even the gods could not change.

In ancient Athens, hubris meant using violence to shame someone (this could also include rape). In legal terms, hubristic acts included actions similar to today’s assault-and-battery, sexual crimes, or stealing public or sacred property. In some cases, the term had a sexual meaning. Shame was often directed at the person who committed the act.

The idea of hubris is closely tied to ancient Greek beliefs about honor (τιμή, timē) and shame (αἰδώς, aidōs). Honor meant not only praising someone who received it but also shaming someone who was overcome by hubris. This idea is like a zero-sum game, where one person’s gain comes from another’s loss. Rush Rehm explains hubris as "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence."

Two famous cases are found in the speeches of Demosthenes, a famous leader in ancient Greece. First, Midias punched Demosthenes in the face in a theater (Against Midias). Second, a defendant allegedly attacked a man and boasted over the victim (Against Conon). Another example is in Aeschines’ Against Timarchus, where Timarchus was accused of breaking the law of hubris by engaging in prostitution and anal intercourse. Aeschines tried to stop Timarchus from holding political office, and the case was successful. Aristotle defined hubris as shaming someone not because of harm to the person who caused it, but for their own pleasure:

"to cause shame to the victim, not in order that anything may happen to you, nor because anything has happened to you, but merely for your own gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: naive men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the greater."

In the Septuagint, "hubris" is described as "overweening pride, superciliousness or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution or nemesis." The word "hubris" in the New Testament is similar to the Hebrew word pesha, meaning "transgression." It represents a pride that "makes a man defy God," sometimes to the point of seeing himself as equal to God.

Modern usage

In modern times, hubris means extreme confidence and pride along with arrogance. It is sometimes called "pride that blinds" because it often leads people to act in ways that seem foolish and ignore common sense.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes "arrogance" as having an overly high view of one's own abilities or importance, which can lead to overconfidence or a belief that one is better than others. Adrian Davies views arrogance as more common and less serious than hubris.