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Theme Of Arrogance In Ancient Greece

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In ancient Greece they shared many values and morals within their culture, to represent and teach these values they created mythical characters who showed the importance of them. One Greek value they had was to be humble and avoid being hubristic.If you were arrogant and believed you were better than everybody else and even the Gods you would be punished for such beliefs.

An instance where someone's arrogance led to their demise is the story of Arachne. This story shows that being hubristic, and insulting the Gods will eventually lead to your downfall. Arachne was a natural born weaver with extraordinary talents, many said that she was blessed by Athena. Instead of accepting their compliments she let her hubris get the best of her and claimed that "[she] was better than Athena and could beat her in a weaving contest". Athena, hearing her boasts about her talents went to Arachne disguised as an elderly woman and told her that "[She] can never compare to any of the Gods. Plead for forgiveness and Athena might spare [her] soul". Arachne refuses to accept that she was blessed and Athena reveals who she truly is, accepting Arachne's challenge. They both created beautiful tapestries …show more content…

Arachne had the hubris to compare herself and say she was better than Athena, and in turn she faced consequences that left her transformed into a spider. Arachne also signifies that those who are especially talented in a certain area should be thankful for their gift and praise the God's for what they were given. Blacksmiths thanked Hephaestus for their talents, and sailors praised Poseidon for their tact for navigating and sailing the sea. Arachne claimed she was not blessed by Athena and ended up being cursed by her. The Greeks valued a strong, yet humble character who knew their limits and didn't boast about their achievements or

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