--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel J. Milton" <dmilt1896@...>
wrote:
>
> Arete features in a single myth told by the Sophist Prodicus,
> where she and Kakia appear to Herakles, each offering her way of life.
> Clearly she is a personification of Virtue, and I would be very
> surprised if she existed much before Prodicus (if at all). The word
> does derive from the root you are interested in, but if there are
> Goddesses in other cultures with a similar name and function, I'd
> guess parallel development rather than I.-E. inheritance.
> Dan
>
Dan,
My thanks for your reply and information. Wikipedia states Prodicus was
around the 5th century BC and makes the first known reference to Arete
as a goddess. However this site
http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Arete.html
suggests Arete existed in the 6th-5th century BC.
Regardless of those details, the term "Arete" as a word for
virtue/excellence - was employed by Homer and so would indicate the
antiquity of the term in general.
At first I thought parallel development would be less likely, though I
suppose "excellence" may derive as a result of a person being "well put
together".
On the other hand, the possibility of shared IE heritage also seems
valid, hence my desire to explore the various derivatives of both PIE
*H2rtó- and PII *H2rtá-.
Sincerely,
Aydan