Hu•bris /ˈ(h)yo͞obris/ noun: pride or excessive self-confidence. Pride is considered the most serious of the seven deadly sins. Some say it was the original sin that led to all the others. A word with such disgusting synonyms as arrogance, vanity, haughtiness, pomposity, and selfishness was considered one of the worst possible sins in Greek culture. They believed that regardless of your social status, those who exhibited it were destined to fall into damnation. Yet some Greek heroes seemed to overflow with pride in the form of confidence or arrogance. There was a fine line between the two that they should never cross. One hero in particular showed this sin in more ways than one. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus displays the sinful trait of pride, in the form of arrogance when speaking to Polythemus, his crew members, his wife, and his son. The first time Odysseus shows pride is at the very beginning of his journey. Odysseus and his crew decide to visit the island of Polythemus simply out of curiosity. They find themselves in a difficult situation inside the cave since Polythemus does not let them escape. Odysseus is sharp and cunning when he invents a plot to blind Polythemus and escape under the belly of the flock of sheep brought in and out of the cave each day. After escaping, Odysseus can't help but puff up, so he explains how, after his men emerge from the cave, he angrily shouts to Polythemus: "I would not listen to them in my glorious mind, / but I let my anger burst forth and shouted: / “Cyclops, / if ever a mortal asks / how you were shamed and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, plunderer of cities, took your eye: / The son of Laertes, whose house is in Ithaca!' " (500-505, 769). In Odysseus' crisis of pride and rage, he revealed his identity...... middle of paper......he has the right to take the life of all these men. However, thanks to his pride, Odysseus feels righteous and powerful, enough to slaughter the suitors only moments after boasting. The sin of pride is one of the most evil sins and rightly so. This ends up costing Odysseus twenty years at sea, all because he revealed his name to Polythemus. Pride caused Odysseus' crew to have unjustifiable confidence in him, even when Odysseus stood by while six men were swallowed up. Sin caused Odysseus to lie to his own wife just to get his emotions out and feel better about himself. Odysseus used pride to feel superior enough to bring about the deaths of the suitors when it is usually the gods who perform such an act. Throughout Odysseus' long and treacherous odyssey, he displays corrupted pride in the form of arrogance when speaking to key figures about his return expedition..