Does anyone have a personal Greek verse about arete, perferably in poetry? I’m thinking of something along the lines of Iliad or Odyssey. I know of plenty of Socratic verses, but this is something that a poet would quote. Thanks
you can get homeric lines with the word in it from this lsj definition:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2314968
then if you click the word a)reth/, and then click “frequency by author”, you can get a list of the use of the word throughout greek poetry, or you can choose individual authors. not sure if that’s what you want though…
thanks for the link, although I wasn’t necessarily limiting it to Homer. Just wanted to know if you had some personal favorites out there…
oh ok, the line which leaps to mind doesn’t define a)reth/ but it seems relevant anyway:
ou) ga\r dokei=n a)/ristoj, a)ll’ ei)=nai qe/lei
for he wants not to seem, but to be, best.
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, line 592
it’s iambic, scanning - - . - . - . | - - - . -
the rhythm and the meaning go really well together here i think; the heavy molossus (- - -) draws attention to the main point of the line. 