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Folly Of Hubris In Edith Hamilton's Mythology

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Folly Of Hubris In Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Folly of Hubris

In Edith Hamilton's Mythology, many mortals make the mistake of thinking themsleves equal or greater than the gods. Thinking "thoughts to dangerous to man" is the crime the gods hate the most. This stunt is called the folly of hubris. The folly of hubirs is will certainly be punnished for their arrogance. Bellerophon, Salmoneous, and Niobe all commited this crime and were most certainly punnished.

Bellerophon lived a heroic and happy life until he angered the gods. "His eager ambition along with his great success led him to think 'thoughts too great for men,' the thing of all others the gods objected to." (Hamilton 190). Bellerophon believed he could take his place with the gods, so he tried to ride Pegasus up to Mount Olympus. Pegasus threw Bellerophon off, for he knew better than that. The gods hated Bellerophon and he avoided human contact. He spent the rest of his life wandering, hating himself.
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The chariot he had made was assembled in a way so that whenever it moved there was a loud banging sound. "He drove it furiously through the town, scattering at the same time firebrands and shouting to the people to worship him beacause he was Zeus the Thunderer" (439). Instantly Salmoneus was struck by a flash of lightening and the sound of thunder. He was killed and fell from the

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