ΑΙΔΩΣ
Aidos — shame that is at once reverence, the rooted sense of measure before gods, parents, and suppliants — constitutes perhaps the most primordial ethical concept of Hellenism. Hesiod laments it as it abandons the world together with Nemesis at the end of the Iron Age. In Plato's myth in the Protagoras, aidos and dike are the two gifts Zeus bestows on humans so that political life may be possible. For Aristotle it is not a virtue but a passion — the shame the young need until they acquire virtue.
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According to the Liddell-Scott-Jones Lexicon, αἰδώς means «reverence, awe, shame, self-respect, sense of honour». The word is among the most profound and multivalent of ancient Greek, spanning a range from religious piety to social modesty and ethical self-control.
In Homer, aidos constitutes the basic regulatory feeling of heroic ethics: it expresses respect toward parents, the elderly, suppliants, and strangers under the protection of Zeus Xenios. When Priam begs Achilles to return Hector's body (Iliad 24), he appeals to aidos before the gods and Achilles' own aged father. Aidos is the inner sense that precedes any written law.
In Hesiod (Works and Days 197-201), Aidos and Nemesis abandon the earth at the end of the Iron Age — a loss that marks the moral bankruptcy of human society. In Plato's Protagoras (322c), aidos and dike are the two divine gifts of Zeus that make political coexistence possible. In Aristotle (Nic. Eth. IV.9, 1128b10), aidos is not properly a virtue — for the excellent person does not do things that cause shame — but «a kind of fear of disrepute», useful for the young to lead them toward virtue.
Etymology
Cognates: αἰδέομαι (to revere, be ashamed), αἰδέσιμος (venerable), ἀναιδής (shameless), αἰδοῖον (genital — what shame forbids to expose). Related concepts: νέμεσις (divine retribution, righteous indignation), σέβας, εὐλάβεια. Opposites: ὕβρις, ἀναίδεια.
Main Meanings
- Reverence toward superiors, piety — The primary meaning — awe before gods, parents, the elderly, suppliants.
- Shame, sense of disgrace — The negative feeling accompanying unseemly action; a social regulator prior to written law.
- Self-respect, honour — The inner consciousness of one's dignity; the aidemon person respects himself and does not act unworthily.
- Modesty, restraint — Discreet modesty, especially of the young and of women; a cultural value of ancient Greek society.
- Pity, compassion — In supplication scenes (Priam to Achilles), aidos also becomes pity — compassion that impels a merciful act.
- Political virtue (Protagoras) — In Plato's homonymous myth, aidos and dike are preconditions of political coexistence.
- Pedagogical passion (Aristotle) — For Aristotle, not a virtue but a passion useful to the young until they acquire the real virtues.
- Aidoia (genitals) — A derived sense: what causes aidos to expose; an early testimony to the connection between sexuality and shame.
Philosophical Journey
Aidos constitutes one of the oldest codes of Greek ethics; its developmental trajectory mirrors the transition from heroic to political and, later, theoretical moral thought.
Lexarithmic Analysis
The lexarithmos of the word ΑΙΔΩΣ is 1015, from the sum of its letter values:
1015 decomposes into 1000 (hundreds) + 10 (tens) + 5 (units).
The 18 Methods
Applying the 18 traditional lexarithmic methods to the word ΑΙΔΩΣ:
| Method | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Isopsephy | 1015 | Base lexarithmos |
| Decade Numerology | 7 | |
| Letter Count | 5 | |
| Cumulative | 5/10/1000 | Units 5 · Tens 10 · Hundreds 1000 |
| Odd/Even | Odd | Masculine force |
| Left/Right Hand | Right | Divine (≥100) |
| Quotient | — | Comparative method |
| Palindromes | No | |
| Onomancy | — | Comparative |
| Sphere of Democritus | — | Divination with lunar day |
| Zodiacal Isopsephy | Moon ☽ / Scorpio ♏ | 1015 mod 7 = 0 · 1015 mod 12 = 7 |
Isopsephic Words (1015)
The LSJ lexicon contains a total of 86 words with lexarithmos 1015. For the full catalog and AI semantic filtering, see the interactive tool.
Sources & Bibliography
- Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S. — A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940, s.v. αἰδώς.
- Cairns, Douglas L. — Aidos: The Psychology and Ethics of Honour and Shame in Ancient Greek Literature. Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Homer — Iliad 24.503-506. Loeb Classical Library.
- Hesiod — Works and Days 197-201. Loeb Classical Library.
- Plato — Protagoras 322c-d. Loeb Classical Library.
- Aristotle — Nicomachean Ethics IV.9 (1128b10 ff.). Loeb Classical Library.
- Williams, Bernard — Shame and Necessity. University of California Press, 1993.