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his crew was taken from him early in his voyage, Odysseus had to overcome most of these obstacles on his own. However, in all of his suffering, Odysseus did not admit he was wrong until the very end. In the ten years of life he lost, Odysseus missed growing old with his wife and watching his son grow into a man. He could have experienced his life if he had swallowed his pride and admitted he was wrong.

In the story of Antigone, pride cost a king his niece, son, and wife. Antigone is a story of a conflict between a king named Creon and his niece Antigone. In the story they disagree whether the laws of man or the laws of god are more important. When Antigone refuses to step down to her uncle and king, Creon banishes her to live in a stone jail until she dies. It is only after he does this that he realizes he has made a huge mistake. However, instead of acting on this, Creon pretends he believes whole heartedly in what he is doing. It is too late when Creon decides to admit he was wrong. When he gets to where Antigone is being kept he finds her and his son have committed suicide and he later finds out that his wife also kills herself. By not admitting he was wrong, Creon was indirectly responsible for the death of three of his most beloved family members. Neither Creon or Antigone committed a crime when they stood up for what they believed in. It was only when Creon refused to admit his wrong that a crime was committed. If he had been able to swallow his pride, he would have saved the life of his niece, son, and wife.
The inability to admit a mistake is one negative characteristic of human kind that has been constant throughout history. In the thousands of years that elapsed between the time of The Odyssey and present, only one major change has been eminent in the effects of hubris. Now, instead of hubris hurting only the person committing the wrongful act, the inability to admit a wrong has the potential to hurt thousands of people. No matter how bad it tastes, it is important for human kind to learn how to swallow their pride.

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