Arete
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Arete is a concept in ancient Greek thought that refers to "excellence" of any kind—especially a person or thing's "full realization of potential or inherent function." The term may also refer to exce
Statue of Arete in Celsus' Library in Ephesus, 2nd century AD
The Choice of Hercules by Carracci, 1596. Depicts Hercules deciding between Vice (right) and Virtue, or Arete (left)
Arete (mythology)
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In Greek mythology, Queen Arete of Scheria was the wife of Alcinous and mother of Nausicaa and Laodamas.
Arete
…excellence in "moral virtue." The concept was also occasionally personified as a minor goddess, Arete (not to be confused with the mythological Queen Arete), who, together with sister Homonoia, formed the Praxidikai ("Exacters of Justice"). In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was…
Francesco Hayez, Ulysses at the court of Alcinous, 1814–1815. Arete is depicted on the left, sitting between Nausicaa and Alcinous.