The ancient Greeks created a moral code that consisted of eight evil thoughts that they believed made a person less human. A couple of these evil thoughts are demonstrated in the episode “The Cyclops” in the epic The Odyssey. In “The Cyclops” a storm blows Odysseus onto an island. He is trapped on the island with some of his men, and Odysseus must try to escape the island with his men by killing the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. While Odysseus tries to save his men and defeat the Cyclops to escape the island, he demonstrates hyperephania (pride), philargyria (greed), and kenodoxia (boasting). The first evil thought, pride, is the expectation that esteem or adulation will be received without being earned. This expectation makes people arrogant, and therefore isolated from the rest of humanity; this isolation makes people less
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In “The Cyclops”, Odysseus used the name Nohbdy to trick Polyphemus while also tricking him with wine, then said, “And I was filled with laughter to see how like a charm the name deceived them,” (The Cyclops. 410-411). Odysseus was pleased with himself at how well his trick worked, and he became prideful in the outcome of his trick and expressed his pride by laughing at Polyphemus and the other Cyclopes. In addition to demonstrating pride throughout the story, Odysseus exhibits signs of kenodoxia, or boasting. Like pride, boasting makes a person arrogant, therefore isolated from humanity. Odysseus demonstrates boastfulness by bragging to the Polyphemus, “How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” (478-480). Odysseus boasted about accomplishing the task of defeating Polyphemus, and proceeded to brag about and take pride in his accomplishment of defeating the Cyclops by telling him that he deserved the punishment he received
In “The Cyclops”, Odysseus used the name Nohbdy to trick Polyphemus while also tricking him with wine, then said, “And I was filled with laughter to see how like a charm the name deceived them,” (The Cyclops. 410-411). Odysseus was pleased with himself at how well his trick worked, and he became prideful in the outcome of his trick and expressed his pride by laughing at Polyphemus and the other Cyclopes. In addition to demonstrating pride throughout the story, Odysseus exhibits signs of kenodoxia, or boasting. Like pride, boasting makes a person arrogant, therefore isolated from humanity. Odysseus demonstrates boastfulness by bragging to the Polyphemus, “How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” (478-480). Odysseus boasted about accomplishing the task of defeating Polyphemus, and proceeded to brag about and take pride in his accomplishment of defeating the Cyclops by telling him that he deserved the punishment he received