  Arete explained... definition: aretê [Arês] 1. goodness, excellence, of any kind, esp. of manly qualities, manhood, valour, prowess, Hom., Hdt. (like Lat. vir-tus, from vir). 2. rank, nobility, Theogn., Eur. 3. in Prose, generally, goodness, excellence in any art, Plat., etc. ; of animals or things, Hdt., attic. 4. in moral sense, goodness, virtue, Plat., etc. :--also character for virtue, merit, Eur., etc.
5. ar. eis tina service done him, Thuc. ; ar. peri tina Xen. summary: The most articulated value in Greek culture is arete. Translated as "virtue," the word actually means something closer to "being the best you can be," or "reaching your highest human potential. " In the Homeric poems, arete is frequently associated with bravery, but more often, with effectiveness. The man or woman of arete is a person of the highest effectiveness; they use all their faculties: strength, bravery, wit, and deceptiveness, to achieve real results.
In the Homeric world, then, arete involves all of the abilities and potentialities available to humans. The concept implies a human-centered universe in which human actions are of paramount importance; the world is a place of conflict and difficulty, and human value and meaning is measured against individual effectiveness in the world. To Aristotle, arete is explicitly linked with human knowledge. Plato repeatedly returns to the question of arete, and the evidence of his earliest writings suggest that Socrates, Plato's teacher, was equally obsessed with the question.
The famous Socratic paradox, "Virtue is knowledge," is in Greek, "Arete is knowledge. " This would be the foundation of both Socratic and Platonic philosophy: the highest human potential is knowledge and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity.
Aristotle also locates the highest human potential in knowledge: theoretical knowledge. 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. Just something to think about... 
