Aretē is excellence of any kind, and in ethics the virtue of character. Socrates held that virtue is knowledge, so that no one does wrong willingly; Aristotle that it is a settled disposition to choose the mean. The cardinal virtues were wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.
Aretē
Excellence or virtue: the quality that makes a thing, or a person, good at being what it is.
Also: arete, virtue