Short answers, pulled from the story.
Aristocracy derives from the Greek aristokratia, a compound of aristos, meaning excellent, and kratos, meaning power. The term aristokratia roughly translates to "rule of the best born" and was first used in Athens to describe young men of the ruling class who led armies at the front line.
Arete was the virtue of martial bravery in ancient Greece. Because bravery was highly regarded, it was assumed that the men leading armies were also the best members of society, and this quality was called arete.
A small high aristocracy of about two hundred families controlled roughly a quarter of the kingdom's land in England. In seventeenth-century Bohemia, an even smaller noble class owned two-thirds of the land.
In his 1602 political treatise Republica Mista, Tomas Fernandez de Medrano described an aristocrat as someone distinguished by virtue, morality, and wisdom, holding authority for the benefit and welfare of the public rather than personal gain.
During the French Revolution, revolutionary leaders applied the label "aristocrat" even to non-noble opponents, using it to identify anyone who supported inherited privilege. Aristocracy could be abolished as the result of a revolution, as France demonstrated.
Plato's Symposium depicts a banquet attended by prominent Athenian aristocrats whose discussion centered on love and Eros. The dialogue illustrates how the aristocratic class shaped not only political and military life but also philosophical and artistic discourse.