Where does the literary term hamartia come from?
Hamartia comes from ancient Greek. It is based on the verb hamartanein, which means “to miss the mark.”. This phrase was originally used to describe an archer missing a target.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to use it as a literary concept in his Poetics around 335 BCE. He used it to explain why some tragedies move audiences so deeply. The hero falls through an error rather than through wickedness.
Today, hamartia is often translated as “tragic flaw.” However, many scholars argue that “tragic error” is closer to Aristotle’s original meaning.
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