Merge: date=April 2009

Ethos ( ) (lang: ἦθος, ἔθος, plurals: ethe (ἤθη), ethea (ἤθεα)) is a Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" (as in lang: ἤθεα ἵππων "the habitat of horses", Il. 6.511), "custom, habit", equivalent to Latin mores.

Ethos forms the root of ethikos (lang: ἠθικός), meaning "moral, showing moral character". To the Greeks ancient and modern, the meaning is simply "the state of being", the inner source, the soul, the mind, and the original essence, that shapes and forms a person or animal. Late Latin borrowed it as ethicus, the feminine of which (ethica, for lang: ἠθική φιλοσοφία "moral philosophy") is the origin of the modern English word ethics.

The Origins of ethos

Ethos, according to The Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as "the characteristic spirit, prevalent tone of sentiment, of a people or community living for a weekend illuminated only by the light of a small oculus; the 'genius' of an institution or system", although it originally has its roots in the Greek word 'etho' or "to be accustomed to."(Miller 309, 310) However, the word ethos has been translated to contain many different meanings within the English language. One such definition in accordance with the opinion of S. Michael Halloran is that the concept of ethos listens to accepted standards, rather than what is more modernly thought of as character unique to a certain individual. He states in his research that "the most concrete meaning given for the term in the Greek lexicon is 'a habitual gathering place."(Halloran 60) Halloran continues further to deduce that such a description might conjure up images of shared ideas and experiences, thus fortifying it as the foundation of character. To clarify, his reference to the meaning of ethos as a habitual gathering place draws more attention to an inferred, rather than literal meaning. In a place where one might gather often, the opportunity for developing communal values indefinitely arises. These types of values are those which are established in the meaning of ethos.Therefore, to be a good example of ethos, one must portray the types of traits that are most valued within a society. For example, those virtues as related to Athens would be "justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, (and) wisdom."(Halloran 60)

While such characteristics are an important part of ethos, a character that exemplifies this concept is not necessarily individualistic. As author C.Garton writes, "they may seem mere embodiments of impersonal ideas; or they may, like Orestes in the Eumenides or Adrastus in Euripides Suppliants be too vague to make much character-impression at all."(Garton 247) Therefore, ethos, in accordance with Greek tradition does not focus on individualism, but the expression of society's values through the individual. Author Nedra Reynold's criticism also supports this deduction.