Arete
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Arete: (d. 354/353 BC). Noblewoman. Daughter of Dionysius I “the Elder”, tyrant of Syracuse, and Aristomache. As was often the case with daughters of powerful rulers, she was exploited as a political tool. Her first two marriages were to uncles, first Tearidus and then Dion. It appears that she was genuinely devoted to Dion but could not accompany him when he fled into exile in 366 BC. Arete was then forced into a marriage by her half-brother Dionysius II to his friend Timocrates. When Dion returned to seize Syracuse, Dionysius kept Arete as a hostage while he was besieged in his citadel. It was only after Dionysius escaped that Dion captured the citadel and was reunited with Arete. Their reunion was short-lived, however, by Dion’s assassination. Arete found her own life in danger from her husband’s enemies. Accompanied by her mother, Aristomache, she fled from Syracuse by ship hoping to reach sanctuary in the Peloponnesus. Unfortunately, the ship was intercepted by Hicetas, tyrant of Leontini, who had the two women thrown into the sea to drown.