Comparative Literature and Culture 1020 Midterm: Midterm Essay Notes
18 Apr 2016
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Thesis: in maintaining too much con dence, or hubris, as de ned in ancient writings, the gods will feel obligated to intervene and bring punishment upon you for overestimating your power. Poseidon intervenes to avenge his son"s blinding // the odyssey by homer: odysseus uses his cleverness and wit to outsmart polyphemus, but he gets too con dent and screams his name. Odysseus says that if he were to encounter. Polyphemus again, he would surely kill him and then he would be damned to hell. Hearing this, polyphemus now knows that identity of the man who blinded him, making it possible to seek revenge. This is one of the only times in the odyssey where odysseus fails to think about the outcomes of his actions: odysseus displays hubris the action of getting overcon dent in this passage. Because of his overcon dence, odysseus reveals his true identity and insults.
