Arete was the daughter of Rhexenor. She was a descendant of Poseidon, who, making love to Periboea, begot Nausithous, who in turn had two sons, Rhexenor, her father and Alcinous, her uncle and later on, her husband. Her name appears to be associated with the Ionic noun ἀρητή, meaning "sacred", "cursed" or "prayed." Some sources claim that it means "righteous", while others connect it with Ares, the Greek god of war.
Mythologyedit
Argonauticaedit
Arete was also depicted as an intelligent and generous hostess by Apollonius in Book 4 of the Argonautica, where he recounts the story of Jason and Medea.
When the Argonauts arrived at the island, Arete and her husband received them and Medea hospitably. The Colchians arrived soon after in pursuit of Medea and demanded to take her back to face punishment for the death of her father, Aeëtes. Medea appealed to Arete, and Arete in turn appealed to her husband to grant mercy to Medea. When Alcinous compromised with the declaration, “If she be yet a maid I decree that they carry her back to her father; but if she shares a husband's bed, I will not separate her from her lord; nor, if she bear a child beneath her breast, will I give it up to an enemy,”[2] Arete went to Jason and Medea in the night and told them to marry so that Medea's life would be spared. Through her efforts, the two were wed and the Colchians were forced to return to their homeland without Medea.[3]
Odysseyedit
In the Odyssey, Arete appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband. When Odysseus arrived in Scheria, he appealed first to Arete for reception and protection, and she treated him hospitably.[4] He did so on Nausicaa and Athena’s instructions, the goddess having described Arete thus:
Her Alcinous made his wife, and honored her as no other woman on earth is honored, of all those who in these days direct their households in subjection to their husbands; so heartily is she honored, and has ever been, by her children and by Alcinous himself and by the people, who look upon her as upon a goddess, and greet her as she goes through the city. For she of herself is no wise lacking in good understanding, and for the women to whom she has good will she makes an end of strife even among their husbands.[5]
Notesedit
^Bolles, William, ed. (1845). An Explanatory and Phonographic Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language. New London: Bolles & Williams. p. 852.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
December 25, 2023
arete, mythology, other, uses, arete, disambiguation, greek, mythology, queen, arete, ancient, greek, Ἀρήτη, means, prayed, scheria, wife, alcinous, mother, nausicaa, laodamas, francesco, hayez, ulysses, court, alcinous, 1814, 1815, arete, depicted, left, sitt. For other uses see Arete disambiguation In Greek mythology Queen Arete e ˈ r iː t iː 1 Ancient Greek Ἀrhth means she who is prayed for of Scheria was the wife of Alcinous and mother of Nausicaa and Laodamas Francesco Hayez Ulysses at the court of Alcinous 1814 1815 Arete is depicted on the left sitting between Nausicaa and Alcinous Contents 1 Biography 2 Mythology 2 1 Argonautica 2 2 Odyssey 3 Notes 4 ReferencesBiography editArete was the daughter of Rhexenor She was a descendant of Poseidon who making love to Periboea begot Nausithous who in turn had two sons Rhexenor her father and Alcinous her uncle and later on her husband Her name appears to be associated with the Ionic noun ἀrhth meaning sacred cursed or prayed Some sources claim that it means righteous while others connect it with Ares the Greek god of war Mythology editArgonautica edit Arete was also depicted as an intelligent and generous hostess by Apollonius in Book 4 of the Argonautica where he recounts the story of Jason and Medea When the Argonauts arrived at the island Arete and her husband received them and Medea hospitably The Colchians arrived soon after in pursuit of Medea and demanded to take her back to face punishment for the death of her father Aeetes Medea appealed to Arete and Arete in turn appealed to her husband to grant mercy to Medea When Alcinous compromised with the declaration If she be yet a maid I decree that they carry her back to her father but if she shares a husband s bed I will not separate her from her lord nor if she bear a child beneath her breast will I give it up to an enemy 2 Arete went to Jason and Medea in the night and told them to marry so that Medea s life would be spared Through her efforts the two were wed and the Colchians were forced to return to their homeland without Medea 3 Odyssey editIn the Odyssey Arete appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband When Odysseus arrived in Scheria he appealed first to Arete for reception and protection and she treated him hospitably 4 He did so on Nausicaa and Athena s instructions the goddess having described Arete thus Her Alcinous made his wife and honored her as no other woman on earth is honored of all those who in these days direct their households in subjection to their husbands so heartily is she honored and has ever been by her children and by Alcinous himself and by the people who look upon her as upon a goddess and greet her as she goes through the city For she of herself is no wise lacking in good understanding and for the women to whom she has good will she makes an end of strife even among their husbands 5 Notes edit Bolles William ed 1845 An Explanatory and Phonographic Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language New London Bolles amp Williams p 852 Apollonius Argonautica 4 1096 Apollonius Argonautica 4 982 1170 Homer Odyssey VII 54 66 141 233 Homer Odyssey VII 46 References editApollonius Rhodius Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton 1853 1915 R C Loeb Classical Library Volume 001 London William Heinemann Ltd 1912 Online version at the Topos Text Project Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica George W Mooney London Longmans Green 1912 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library Homer The Odyssey with an English Translation by A T Murray PH D in two volumes Cambridge MA Harvard University Press London William Heinemann Ltd 1919 ISBN 978 0674995611 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Greek text available from the same website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arete mythology amp oldid 1130904496, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
