Hubris, according to the Greeks, was the sin of defying the gods, and could unleash against you the terrifying avenging figure of the goddess Nemesis, who carried in one hand an apple-bough and, in the other, the Wheel of Fortune, which would one day circle around to the inevitable moment of vengence....
In the years to come you will find yourselves up against gods of all sorts, big and little gods, corporate and incorporeal gods, all of them demanding to be worshiped and obeyed- the myriad deities of money and power, of convention and custom, that will seek to limit and control your thoughts and lives..
Defy them. Thumb your noses. For as the myths tell us, it is by defying the gods that human beings have best expressed their humanity.
The greeks tell many stories of quarrels between us and the gods.
Arachane, the great artist of the loom, sets her skills of weaving and embroidery against those of the goddess of wisdom herself, Minerva or Pallas Athena. For this, the goddess changes her mortal rival into a spider...
Queen Niobe of Thebes tells her people not to worship Latona, the mother of Diana and Apollo, saying " what folly is this! - To prefer beings whom you never saw to those who stand before your eyes" For this sentiment, the gods murder her children and husband and she metamorphoses into a rock, petrified with grief from which there trickles an unending river of tears.
Prometheus the Titan steals fire from the gods and gives it to mankind. For this - for what we would now call the desire for progress, for improved scientific and technological capabilities- he is bound to a pillar while a great bird gnaws eternally at his liver, which regenerates as it is consumed.
It is men and women who have made the world, and they have made it in spite of the gods. The message of the myths is not the one the gods would have us learn - "behave yourself and know your place" - but its exact opposite. It is that we must be guided by our natures. Our worst natures can, it's true be arrogant, venal, corrupt or selfish; but in our best selves, we can and will be joyous, adventurous, cheeky, creative , demanding, competitive, loving and defiant.
Do not bow your heads. Do not know your place. Defy the gods. You will be astonished how many of them turn out to have feet of clay...
- Salman Rushdie.
