Ankara—Hubris, Ate, and Nemesis are three minor Greek deities, mostly remembered today for their function in ancient Greek drama. Hubris symbolizes arrogance, and deviation from virtue. Ate refers to an act of folly, a direct consequence of hubris, which provokes the wrath of gods and precipitates their intervention. Nemesis is the retribution of divine justice—painful, but necessary to restore world balance and order. The ongoing, multifaceted crisis that has torn apart Greece’s economy and society since October 2009 can also be approached through the lens of this tragic classical trio.
Today, the country is all but bankrupt, thanks in large part to excesses that have become endemic in Greek society and governance during the past three decades. Only the last-minute intervention of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund prevented a total meltdown of the country’s economy in the spring of 2010. As a result, during...
