Andare oltre il limite : figure della hybris nella cultura dei Greci

The temptation to go beyond the limit is the leitmotif of this brief review of the figures of hybris (overwhelm) in Greek culture. For defining the concept, in its constant opposition to dike (justice), this essay draws on the representations of epic and tragic poets, on the narratives of historians and on Plato's dialogues. The aim of the research is to reconstruct the reasons for alarm that the Greeks saw in the desire to prevail over others and in the presumption of having good reasons for doing so. What emerges is the destructive meaning of every kind of prevarication for the system of relationships that allows human coexistence. [Publisher's text].