Arete (Greek: ; in English), in its basic sense, means "goodness", "excellence", or "virtue" of any kind. In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential. Arete in ancient Greek culture was courage and strength in the face of adversity and it was to what all people aspired. The Ancient Greeks applied the term to anything: for example, the excellence of a… (More on Arete)