ABSTRACT
Archaic poets were clearly concerned with the behaviour of their fellow citizens, but their opinions often do little to help those who would reconstruct or trace the development of a clear and unambiguous system of evaluation. The picture is further clouded by the fact that Archaic verse includes not only literary but also epigraphic material; the restricted quantity and scope of this evidence limit the uses to which it can be put, but it can prove valuable when studied alongside the literature, in that it seems to reflect more private concerns. From this perspective, a survey will be made here of some of the virtues which the composers of Archaic verse considered useful in a civic context, beginning with martial valour and patriotism in war. This was one type of arete (‘excellence’) which was important in a polis, but there were others, and the attempts by some poets to assimilate the various aretai into one general arete (and the attempts by others to resist this assimilation) will then be examined. Finally, another virtue which some poets considered significant in the polis will be discussed.
