Personification
Further information: Virtus (deity)Arete was occasionally personified as a goddess, the sister of Harmonia (a personification of concord), daughter of the goddess of justice Praxidike.
Arete and Harmonia were known jointly as the Praxidikai (Exacters of Justice). As with many minor Greek deities, there is little or no real mythical background to Arete, who is used at most as a personification of virtue.
The only story involving Arete was originally told in the 5th century BC by the sophist Prodicus, and concerns the early life of the hero Heracles. At a crossroads, Arete appeared to Heracles as a young maiden, and offered him glory and a life of struggle against evil; her counterpart Kakia (κακία, "badness"), offered him wealth and pleasure. Heracles chose to follow the path of Arete.
This story was later used by Christian writers, such as Methodius of Olympus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Basil of Caesarea. Justin and Basil portray Arete as a squalidly dressed and unattractive figure, but Methodius portrays her positively in Banquet of the Ten Virgins.
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