Aidos or Aedos (/ˈiːdɒs/;[1]Greek: Αἰδώς, pronounced[ai̯dɔ̌ːs]) was the
Greekgoddess of
shame,
modesty,
respect, and
humility.[2] Aidos, as a quality, was that feeling of reverence or shame which restrains men from wrong. It also encompassed the emotion that a rich person might feel in the presence of the impoverished, that their disparity of wealth, whether a matter of luck or merit, was ultimately undeserved. Ancient and Christian humility share common themes: they both reject egotism, self-centeredness, arrogance, and excessive pride; they also recognize human limitations.
Aristotle defined it as a middle ground between vanity and cowardice.[citation needed]
She was the last
goddess to leave the
earth after the
Golden Age. She was a close companion of the goddess of vengeance
Nemesis.[3] One source calls her daughter of
Prometheus.[4] Mythologically, she is often considered to be more of a
personification than a physical deity.
Pindar, The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.