Arete (Greek: ἀρετή, pronounced in English [ˈærəteɪ]) in its basic sense means "goodness" or "excellence" of any kind. In its earliest appearance in Greek this notion of excellence was bound up with the notion of the fulfilment of purpose or function; the act of living up to one's full potential. It is essentially being and doing one's absolute best - becoming the most perfect person one can be. The moral excellence or arete of a person or thing was then ηθικη, αρετη or virtue. Specifically, to the ancient Greeks, it referred to the perfection of the male form. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... For the philosophical concept of goodness see Goodness and value theory. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Personification of virtue (Greek ἀρετή) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Virtue (Latin virtus; Greek ) is moral excellence of a person. ...

"The root of the word is the same as 'aristos', the word which shows superlative ability and superiority, and 'aristos' was constantly used in the plural to denote the nobility." ¹ (see Aristocracy) The Ancient Greeks applied the term to anything: for example, the excellence of a chimney, the excellence of a bull to be bred, and the excellence of a man. The meaning of the word changes depending on what it describes, since everything has its own particular excellence; the arete of a man is different from the arete of a horse. Arete (Greek: ) in its basic sense means goodness or excellence of any kind, especially manly qualities. ... Superior has various meanings: A superior is a person who has the authority to command another, as in a superior officer. See: Superior (function) In a hierarchical structure of any kind, a superior is higher in the hierarchy and thus closer to the apex than the subordinate ones. ... // Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with rule by the best. This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Breeding has several meanings related to procreation: In animal husbandry and in horticulture the selection of stock for propagation and the act of insemination by natural or artificial means is called breeding. ... A man is a male human. ...

By the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E., arete as applied to men had developed to include quieter virtues, such as dikaiosyne (justice) and sophrosyne (self-restraint). Plato attempted to produce a moral philosophy that incorporated this new usage (and in doing so developed ideas that played a central part in later Christian thought), but it was in the work of Aristotle that the doctrine of arete found its fullest flowering. (5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Kingdom of Macedon conquers Persian empire Romans build first aqueduct Chinese use bellows The Scythians are beginning to be absorbed into the Sarmatian... (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Demotic becomes the dominant script of ancient Egypt Persians invade Greece twice (Persian Wars) Battle of Marathon (490) Battle of Salamis (480) Athenian empire formed and falls Peloponnesian War... J.L. Urban, statue of Lady Justice at court building in Olomouc, Czech Republic (1896-1901) Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons. ... Sophrosyne (σοφροσύνη) is a Greek philosophical term etymologically meaning moral sanity and from there self control or moderation. Greeks upheld the ideal of sophrosyne, which means wisdom and moderation but ultimately its complex meaning, so important to the Ancients, is very difficult to convey in english. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ...

Homer

In Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, arete is mainly used of heroes and nobles and your mobile dexterity, with special reference to strength and courage, but it isn't limited to this. Penelope's arete, for example, relates to co-operation, for which she's praised by Agamemnon. The excellence of the gods included their power, whereas in the Odyssey (13.42) the gods can grant excellence to a life, which is understood from the context to mean prosperity. Arete was also the name of King Alcinious' wife. Homer (Greek Hómēros) was a legendary early Greek poet and aoidos (singer) traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek , Ilias) is, together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek: , Odusseia) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the poet Homer. ... From the Greek , in mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female). ... // Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... The magnitude of physical strength, often referred to as just strength, determines the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. ... Fortitudo, by Sandro Botticelli Courage, also known as fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. ... Penelope represented as a statue in the Vatican, Rome For other uses, see Penelope (disambiguation). ... Co-operation refers to the practice of people or greater entities working in common with commonly agreed-upon goals and possibly methods, instead of working separately in competition. ... The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ...

Personification

Arete was occasionally personified as a goddess, the sister of Harmonia (a personification of concord). Arete (Greek ) was a minor Ancient Greek goddess of virtue, daughter of the goddess of justice Praxidike. ... Harmonia may refer to: Harmonia (Greek goddess), the goddess of harmony and concord Harmonia (genus), a genus of lady beetles Harmonia (band), a 1970s German band Harmonia Ensemble, an Italian chamber music group Harmonia Sacra, a music textbook Harmonia research project, building programming tools at the University of California, Berkeley...

Paideia

Arete is a significant part of the paideia of ancient Greeks: the training of the boy to manhood. This training in arete included: physical training, for which the Greeks developed the gymnasion, mental training, which included oratory, rhetoric, and basic sciences, and spiritual training, which included music and what is called virtue. To the ancient Greeks, Paideia (παιδεία) was the process of educating man into his true form, the real and genuine human nature. ... In most educational systems, physical education (PE), also called physical training (PT) or gym, is a course in the curriculum which utilizes the learning medium of large-muscle activities in a play or movement exploration setting. ... The gymnasium of the Greeks originally functioned as the school where competitors in the public games received their training, and was so named from the circumstance that these competitors exercised naked (gymnos). ... Oratory is the art of eloquent speech. ... Rhetoric (from Greek ρήτωρ, rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is the art or technique of persuasion, usually through the use of language. ... Pure science, also called basic science, is the exact science of the development of scientific theories, without consideration of their application. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Personification of virtue (Greek ἀρετή) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Virtue (Latin virtus; Greek ) is moral excellence of a person. ...

Examples of usage

• "Virtue (arete) then is a settled disposition of the mind determining the choice of actions and emotions, consisting essentially in the observance of the mean relative to us, this being determined by principle, that is, as the prudent man would determine it." Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, II vi 15, translated H. Rackham (1934: Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press)
• "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence (arete), if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." New Testament, Philippians 4.8.

References

1. Paideia; the Ideals of Greek Culture, Werner Jaeger, Oxford University Press, NY, 1945. Vol. I, pg 5.
2. Paideia, Vol. I, pg. 15.

Werner Jaeger Werner Jaeger (July 30, 1888 - October 9, 1961) was a classicist of the 20th century. ...

Sources and reading

• Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell & Scott (1883: Oxford, Oxford University Press)
• Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Werner Jaeger, trans. Gilbert Highet (1945: New York, Oxford University Press)
• "Arete/Agathon/Kakon", G.B. Kerferd (in Paul Edwards [ed.-in-chief] The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1967: New York, Macmillan & The Free Press)