Today is a bit of a philosophical post. As I've been [slowly] working on the book, I keep circling around how to explain my "why." Being a history nerd, I recently came across the Ancient Greek concept of aretê, and I've latched on to it ever since. The point of today's post is to dive into this philosophy and some of the finer points around it.
You'll be seeing a lot about this in the future. The concept will weave into many upcoming posts, but also appear across informational pages. In all honesty, you're probably going to get tired of hearing me talk about it.
The end goal is to drive home the idea that The Everyday Marksman is about more than guns, gear, and shooting better. It's about a bigger picture and a better class of citizen.












Defining Aretê








Prounced ahr-i-tey, there are many ways to view this ancient phrase. Some historians translated it to mean "virtue," but that view has slowly been fading away. Instead, aretê is best thought of as a way to describe someone's excellence. Specifically, it's excellence across a series of traits and characteristics valuable to the citizen warriors of Ancient Greece.








One book I've been reading on the topic discussed the connection to the Ancient Greek word, aristos, meaning "best," and the root of modern words like aristocrat and aristocracy. In this sense, you could think of aretê as meaning a state of "bestness" for yourself- though not necessarily the best overall.









Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon described aretê as such: "Generally, aretê means 'goodness, excellence, of any kind, especially of manly qualities, manhood, valor, prowess."








For my purposes, I'd like to key in on this last definition and refer to Jack Donovan's tactical virtues of masculinity from The Way of Men: strength, courage, mastery, and honor.
To say that you have aretê is saying that you demonstrate excellence in each of these qualities- particularly in service of a greater good than yourself. There's an important element to definition: to demonstrate.








Aretê is not something that you believe about yourself like some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. The Greeks did not put much stock into how people felt about themselves. Instead, it's how others perceive you based on your behaviors and actions.
I'll emphasize behaviors and actions. Owning the tools and implements of a skilled warrior alone only shows that you have means and resources, not that you are skilled yourself.
You must demonstrate aretê to the world from moment to moment throughout life. To achieve this, the Greeks had another word: agon.
The Great Contest
Agon, pronounced ag-ohn, roughly means struggle or contest. It's the root word of modern phrases like agony. Or, better yet, protagonist and antagonist- a hero and villain of a story struggling against one another. Agon is the test of one's aretê, and it's a lifelong endeavor.
In modern life, your personal agon takes many forms. It's the weight you struggle under at the gym. It's your competition to win a match, the things holding you back from a dry fire routine, succeeding at your job, or even winning against the negative voice in your head. Agon is your life struggle. The concept runs as deep as you wish to make it, and your ability to overcome these struggles is what defines your excellenc...