# Arete — The Argonautica character guide

> Arete in The Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Arêtê

**First appearance:** 0003-book-iv

## Snapshot

The Phaeacian queen whose quiet counsel to her husband can turn a hunted fugitive's fate from exile to marriage-bed in a single night.

## Who they are

Arete rules beside Alcinous on Scheria, the last friendly shore before home—and the last place Medea and the Argonauts can be handed back to Colchian pursuers. She takes pity on the desperate couple, and her private word to her husband shapes the judgment he delivers the next day. In a poem full of kings and gods, she is the rare figure whose mercy actually changes outcomes.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_argonautica_se/characters/arete
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_argonautica_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_argonautica_se/characters