Arete (moral virtue) in the context of Homonoia (mythology)

Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, from Greek ἀρετή [aretḗ]) is a philosophical approach that treats virtue and character as the primary subjects of ethics, in contrast to other ethical systems that put consequences of voluntary acts, principles or rules of conduct, or obedience to divine authority in the primary role.

Virtue ethics is usually contrasted with two other major approaches in ethics, consequentialism and deontology, which make the goodness of outcomes of an action (consequentialism) and the concept of moral duty (deontology) central. While virtue ethics does not necessarily deny the importance to ethics of goodness of states of affairs or of moral duties, it emphasizes virtue and sometimes other concepts, like eudaimonia, to an extent that other ethics theories do not.

A sophist (Greek: σοφιστής, romanized: sophistēs) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught arete, "virtue" or "excellence", predominantly to young statesmen and nobility.

The arts of the sophists were known as sophistry and gained a negative reputation as tools of arbitrary reasoning. Protagoras, regarded as the first of the sophists, became notorious for his claim to "make the weaker argument the stronger".

Eudaimonia (also spelled eudaemonia)(/juːdɪˈmoʊniə/; Ancient Greek: εὐδαιμονία [eu̯dai̯moníaː]) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of good spirit, and which is commonly translated as happiness or welfare.

In the works of Aristotle, eudaimonia was the term for the highest human good in older Greek tradition. It is the aim of practical philosophy-prudence, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider and experience what this state really is and how it can be achieved. It is thus a central concept in Aristotelian ethics and subsequent Hellenistic philosophy, along with the terms aretē (most often translated as virtue or excellence) and phronesis ('practical or ethical wisdom').

Aristotle first used the term ethics to name a field of study developed by his predecessors Socrates and Plato which is devoted to the attempt to provide a rational response to the question of how humans should best live. Aristotle regarded ethics and politics as two related but separate fields of study, since ethics examines the good of the individual, while politics examines the good of the city-state, which he considered to be the best type of community.

Aristotle's writings have been read more or less continuously since ancient times, and his ethical treatises in particular continue to influence philosophers working today. Aristotle emphasized the practical importance of developing excellence (virtue) of character (Greek ēthikē aretē), as the way to achieve what is finally more important, excellent conduct (Greek praxis). As Aristotle argues in Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, the man who possesses character excellence will tend to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. Bravery, and the correct regulation of one's bodily appetites, are examples of character excellence or virtue; so acting bravely and acting temperately are examples of excellent activities. The highest aims are living well, and eudaimonia – a Greek word often translated as well-being, happiness or "human flourishing". Like many ethicists, Aristotle regards excellent activity as pleasurable for the man of virtue. For example, Aristotle thinks that the man whose appetites are in the correct order takes pleasure in acting moderately.

In ancient Roman religion, Virtus (Latin pronunciation: [ˈwɪrtuːs̠]) was the deity of bravery and military strength, the personification of the Roman virtue of virtus. The Greek equivalent deity was Arete. The deity was often associated with the Roman god Honos (personification of honour) and was often honoured together with him, such as in the Temple of Virtus and Honos at the Porta Capena in Rome. It was after the conquest of Syracuse in 205 B.C.E that the Virtus portion of the temple was added, and in such a way that one had to enter the temple of Virtus before Honos, symbolizing that honor cannot be obtained without military success.

Virtus also served as a deity to represent a continuous belief of virtue, after the Fall of Rome. Virtus is mentioned throughout Christian Medieval literature, especially throughout the Byzantine Empire and States of the Holy Roman Empire at the time. Virtue, as represented by Virtus, represented both character traits, and mythical power.