Arete ( grc, Ἀρετή) was the daughter of the Syracusan tyrant

Dionysius I of Syracuse Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gr ...

with Aristomache. Arete was first married to Thearides, and upon his death to her uncle,

Dion of Syracuse Dion (; el, Δίων ὁ Συρακόσιος; 408–354 BC), tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law of Dionysius I of Syracuse. A disciple of Plato, he became Dionysius I's most trusted minister and advis ...

, the brother of her mother Aristomache. After Dion had fled from Syracuse during the reign of the younger Dionysius, Arete was compelled by her brother to marry Timocrates of Syracuse, one of his friends; but she was again received by Dion as his wife, when he had obtained possession of Syracuse and expelled the younger Dionysius,

Dionysius II of Syracuse Dionysius the Younger ( el, Διονύσιος ὁ Νεώτερος, 343 BC), or Dionysius II, was a Greek politician who ruled Syracuse, Sicily from 367 BC to 357 BC and again from 346 BC to 344 BC. Biography Dionysius II of Syracuse was the s ...

. After Dion's assassination in 353 BCE, Arete was imprisoned together with her mother and brought forth a son while in confinement. Arete and Aristomache were subsequently liberated and kindly received by

Hicetas of Leontini Hicetas (Greek: or ) was a Syracusan general and tyrant of Leontini, contemporary with the younger Dionysius and Timoleon. Hicetas is first mentioned as a friend of Dion. After Dion's death in 353 BC, his widow Arete and his sister Aristomach ...

, one of Dion's friends, but he was afterward persuaded by the enemies of Dion to drown them.

Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus ...

, ''Varia Historia'' 12.47, who erroneously makes Arete the mother, and Aristomache the wife of Dion

Notes

4th-century BC Syracusans 4th-century BC Greek women {{AncientGreece-bio-stub