Arete

Arete was occasionally personified as a goddess, the sister of Homonoia (goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind), and the daughter of Praxidike (goddess of justice). She is not to be confused with the mythological Queen Arete mentioned in the Argonautica and the Odyssey, whose name in Greek is spelled ;;;;; (with a different vowel in the second syllable).

Arete and Homonoia were known jointly as the Praxidikai ('Exacters of Justice'). As with many minor Greek deities, there is little or no real mythical background to Arete, who is used at most as a personification of virtue.

In some contexts, arete is explicitly linked with human knowledge, where the expressions "virtue is knowledge" and "arete is knowledge" are used interchangeably. In this sense, the highest human potential is knowledge, and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity. If arete is knowledge and study, the highest human knowledge is knowledge about knowledge itself. In this light, the theoretical study of human knowledge, which Aristotle called "contemplation", is the highest human ability and happiness.[3]


The Choice of Hercules by Carracci, 1596. Depicts Hercules deciding between Vice (left) and Virtue, or Arete (right)
The only story involving Arete was originally told in the 5th century BC by the sophist Prodicus, known as "Hercules at the crossroads" and concerns the early life of the hero Heracles. At a crossroads, Arete appeared to Heracles as a young maiden, and offered him glory and a life of struggle against evil; her counterpart Kakia (;;;;;, 'badness'), offered him wealth and pleasure. Heracles chose to follow the path of Arete.[12]

Her internal beauty is deep,
As pure as the water,
As soft as the clouds,
As clear as the sunlight.
Arete within a human being
Is kindness, a quick wit
And the eagerness to learn.