Examples of arete are easy to find,
particularly in the
, since the main reason many of the
warriors, including Achilles, are there
is to achieve arete.
In later philosophical writing,
arete may
mean something close to virtue, but in 's heroic code, it means
the type of
excellence a warrior displays by fighting well.
It is
closely
related to the concept of glory (time), another
of the main reasons
Achilles is fighting. The warrior wins
time by displaying
arete. Homer is
impartial in the allotment of arete,
as in all else. It
is achieved by Achaean and Trojan warriors, as well as by nobly-born women
such as Andromache and Penelope.
Achilles is already cited as an
example of
arete in Book I of the Iliad when he is not
doing anything. As the greatest
hero, he always has arete,
though he always wants more.
However,
arete is primarily displayed by Hector and Diomedes in
Book V. Here, Diomedes has what is called an aristeia, a word
related to
arete , which means the greatest moment of a
warrior in
battle,...
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