(Ἀρήτη), the wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians. In the Odyssey she appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband, and when Odysseus arrived in the island, he first applied to queen Arete to obtain hospitable reception and protection. (Hom. Od. 6.310, 7.65, &c., 142.) Respecting her connexion with the story of Jason and Medeia, see ALCINOUS.
[L.S]A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890