Victory is a closed system; in contrast, defeat opens one to the possibility of new adaptations.
You win a while, and then it's done
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
--Leonard Cohen
In the case of Greek tragedy, the hero (even the collective mindset of a people) cannot, in the long run, thrive evincing victory-engendered hubris.
He will wend towards tragedy; he, with each successive triumph, will become so self-encapsulated with self-regard that only trauma will reopen his heart to the intimacies availed by earth and eternity
Jason will ignore all council and bring his trophy of war, Medea,
back to Corinth, setting events in motion that will cause him to lose
everything he loves. He will die alone, in demented revelry, crushed
beneath the rotting stern of the Argo, the ship that bore him to glory.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
--Leonard Cohen
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