Blog #1

Hubris and the Priesthood

Greek Hero 

Mormon Hero 

Greek epics describe heroes as individuals who are brilliant, clever, unbelievably strong or possess incredible endurance. Their gifts and talents lead to amazing adventures and great fame. Even now hundreds of years later heroes like Odysseus, Achilles and Jason are recognized by adults and children alike. As a result of this extreme fame many of these heroes share another common characteristic, extreme pride (or hubris if you were going to ask a Greek on the street). However, I think aspiring Greek heroes should consider their “pride level” carefully before accepting it as a necessary heroic trait or denying it completely. Pride in the ancient world is, in moderation, a good thing. A hero should be proud of his strength, of his intrigue, and of his victories. The heroes’ downfall is when this desired level of pride develops into excessive amounts (hubris) until finally it offends the gods and leads to the eventual demise of our Hero. This delicate balance between good pride and bad pride can be seen early on in the Iliad. An argument erupts between Agamemnon and Achilles over their deserved spoils of war. Agamemnon is upset at the prospect of giving up Chriseis (his spoil of war) and demands Achilles gives him his war prize, the woman Briseis.­¹ (Homer, 4-9)

The Good Pride- these two Heroes have been working hard in the war and as a reward they are given their respective woman (I will hold my thoughts on human prizes for a different post). And what are spoils of war but physical representations of honor. Pride to a certain extend is built into the Greek culture, it is expected, encouraged and rewarded. In fact I would argue pride is necessary in Greek culture, if pride and honor were not so highly revered none of our famous heroes would have been motivated to risk life and limb to battle monsters and take on quests.

The Bad Pride- Agamemnon and Achilles both feel their pride would be irreparably hurt if either one gave into the others wishes resulting in an argument that shapes the rest of the Iliad.¹ The Gods are involved in their “game of chicken “and forced to take sides waiting to see which of the two heroes will give into the others will first. The consequences of their unconquerable hubris are large and bloody. A large portion of Agamemnon’s soldiers are killed and as is often the case this excessive pride angers the gods leading to the heroes’ eventual downfall. As is the case of Achilles who chooses honor in war and a short life as opposed to a long life, but no great honors.¹ (Homer, 178)  

The example of hubris above is only one of the its many forms studies in the Greek epics. However, hubris is not always a result of two individuals contending against the other, but can also be displayed by a single person looking to gain glory in the sight of others. Odysseus in the Odyssey does a good job at maintaining that tricky balance between good and bad pride, but in a moment of heated escape Odysseus allow his hubris to overcome him. Odysseus unsatisfied that only his men know about his clever escape and triumph over the cyclops shouts back to the fuming cyclops that he “Odysseus the marauder… son of Laerter” had blinded him.³ (Homer, 312) Because of this lapse in self-control Odysseus suffers for years at the hands of the Sea God, Poseidon.    

Thus Pride in ancient Greece is described well by the old saying “to much of a good thing is a bad thing”. Greek heroes are motivated and rewarded with pride and honor, however just like eating too much ice cream will give you a stomach ache developing too much pride will get you cursed by the gods.   

Mormon epics describe heroes as individuals who are charitable, loving, brave, or incredibly faithful. Their gifts and talents lead to amazing conference talk stories and great fame (amongst Mormons). Many of the Mormon heroes share another common characteristic, humility. Pride in oneself in the LDS church is never a good thing. When one is prideful they are accrediting themselves with accomplishments instead of giving credit the true Master. In his 2010 conference talk “Pride and the Priesthood” Elder Uchtdorf said “Pride is a sin of comparison…the great sin of self-elevation”.² Thus, according to this definition all our Greek heroes who were striving to obtain glory and elevation were committing the sin of pride. So then what is the motivating force behind our Mormon heroes? Why do our prophets and leaders continue to fight monsters and take on seemingly impossible quests? I believe, in large portion, our Mormon heroes are motivated by gratitude for a loving God who offers them so much, even the opportunity to return to Him after falling short. I also think they are motivated to work hard in life’s battels by God like love. From his same 2010 talk President Uchtdorf declared “So how do we conquer this sin of pride that is so prevalent and so damaging?... It is almost impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are filled with charity… When we see the world around us through the lens of the pure love of Christ, we begin to understand humility.”² So instead of seeking glory of men Mormon heroes seek to glorify their God and become more like Him.

However, I would like to clarify that pride is not always a bad thing in the LDS faith, as stated above pride in oneself is considered a sin, but pride can take on different forms. Pride in ones work or family is not a bad thing as President Uchtdorf confirms.² This idea of a “loving kind of pride” was not lost on the ancient Greeks. Herodotus wrote of a fictional exchange between Solon and Croesus, the later of the two inquired of Solon whom he believed to be the “happiest of mortals”. Solon responded that Tellus was the happiest of men, not because he had gained the most glory or riches, but in large part because he had many beautiful and good children whom he was able to watch grow and succeed.³(Finley, 42) This description of a Proud father was the man deemed happiest of mortals.

If I had to choose to either be a Greek hero or a Mormon hero I would without hesitation choose to be the latter. I agree with Solon that true and lasting happiness is not bought with glory. I believe happiness is found by becoming more like Heavenly Father. Pride in oneself, even in controlled levels, does not bring joy that will last throughout this life and into the next. As Achilles describes in the Odyssey when Odysseus is speaking to his ghost. “Don’t try to sell me on death, Odysseus. I’d rather be a hired hand back up on earth, slaving away for some poor dirt farmer, than lord it over all these withered dead.”¹ (Homer, 346-347) It seems Achilles learned too late that pride and glory were no solace in the next life. Thus, filling your life with love and gratitude is a much worthier endeavor and truly makes for the greatest type of heroes.     

Citations

1-    Homer, Stanley Lombardo, and Sheila Murnaghan. The Essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey, 2000. Print.

2-    Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Pride and the Priesthood”, Ensign, October 2010

3-    Finley, M. I. The Greek Historians: The Essence of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius. Penguin Books, 1982