Hubris Examples

Hubris is another word for pride. Hubris, or pride, is one of the most common tragic flaws for a hero or heroine. Many literary heroes have caused or nearly caused their own destruction because of their excessive pride.

Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice nearly loses Elizabeth by having excessive pride in himself and his social status.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus' hubris and arrogance toward the gods causes his to land in one scrape after another on his 10-year journey home from Troy.

In the Greek myth about Narcissus, Narcissus is so prideful of his own beauty, that he sits staring at his reflection until he starves to death.

In another Greek myth, Niobe, the queen of Thebes, brags about having fourteen children while one of the goddesses only has two. To put her in her place, the gods kill her children. Her husband commits suicide, and Niobe is turned into a stone.

Hercules thinks he is better than the gods, so the gods give him 12 labors to complete.

Achilles thinks he is invincible-excessive pride in his own immortality. However, Paris shoots him in the heel, and he dies from his wound.