Arcadia (; ) is a region in the central

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan. In European

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

arts, Arcadia was celebrated as an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness; as such, it was referenced in popular culture. The modern regional unit of the same name more or less overlaps with the historical region, but is slightly larger.

History

Arcadia was gradually linked in a loose confederation that included all the Arcadian towns and was named League of the Arcadians. In the 7th century BC, it successfully faced the threat of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and the Arcadians managed to maintain their independence. They participated in the Persian Wars alongside other Greeks by sending forces to

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

and Plataea. During the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

, Arcadia allied with Sparta and

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. In the following years, during the period of the hegemony of Thebes, the Theban general Epaminondas reinforced the Arcadian federation in order to rival neighboring Sparta. Then he founded

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

, which became its new capital. Over the next centuries Arcadia weakened. It initially was subjugated by the Macedonians and later the Arcadians joined the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

Geography

Geographically, ancient Arcadia occupied the highlands at the centre of the Peloponnese. To the north, it bordered

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Erymanthos to Mount Cyllene; most of Mount Aroania lay within Arcadia. To the east, it had borders with

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

and Corinthia along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Cyllene round to Mount Oligyrtus and then south Mount Parthenius. To the south, the borders with Laconia and Messenia ran through the foothills of the Parnon and Taygetos mountain ranges, such that Arcadia contained all the headwaters of the Alpheios river, but none of the Eurotas river. To the south-west, the border with Messania ran along the tops of Mount Nomia, and Mount Elaeum, and from there the border with Elis ran along the valleys of the Erymanthos and Diagon rivers. Most of the region of Arcadia was mountainous, apart from the plains around Tegea and

, and the valleys of the Alpheios and Ladon rivers.

Arcadians

The Arcadians were an ancient Greek tribe which was situated in the mountainous Peloponnese. It is considered one of the oldest Greek tribes in Greece and it was probably part of, or a relative tribe of, the aboriginal inhabitants of Greece, who are mentioned by the ancient authors as Pelasgians. This is testified by Herodotus and by ancient myths, like the myth of Arcas, the myth of Lycaon etc. Arcadia is also one of the regions described in the " Catalogue of Ships" in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''; its troops were led by Agapenor. Agamemnon himself gave Agapenor the ships for the Trojan war because Arcadia did not have a navy.

Towns

The Arcadians founded numerous towns. Of these the strongest were the cities which controlled the few fertile valleys; Mantinea, Tegea and Orchomenos. The remaining towns were more mountainous or had smaller plains. Some of these were Nostia, Asea, Ypsounta, Teuthis, Heraea, Thyraion, Nestani, Alea, Lycosura, Trikolonon, Tropea, Caphyae, Pallantion, Petrosaca, Feneos, Phoezon, Leucasium, Mesoboa, Stymphalus, etc. From 370 BC the capital of Arcadia became

Religion

Arcadia was the location of the cult of Despoina, also known as the Arcadian mysteries. ''Despoina'' means "the mistress", but was only a title given to the goddess, and was not her real name, which was told only to those initiated in the mysteries. Pausanias. ''Description of Greece.'
8.37.9.
/ref> Despoina, along with

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

, was the primary deity worshipped in Arcadia, and was particularly worshipped at a sanctuary at Lycosura. The Arcadians had their own unique myths, which were mainly centered around Despoina and Demeter. Another important god in Arcadia was Anytos, who was said to be a Titan who raised Despoina.

Notable Arcadians

* Aristocrates II (c. 680–640 BC), king of the Arcadians *

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

(c. 200–118 BC), Greek historian of the

Hellenistic Period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

(

) * Philopoemen (253–183 BC), Greek

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and statesman, Achaean

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

, known as "the last of the Greeks"

Olympic victors

* Androsthenes of Maenalus, won gold in 420 and 416 BC *Euthymenes of Maenalus, won gold in 400 and 392 BC

Mythology

* Atalanta, a Greek mythic woman said to have been the daughter of the King of Arcadia * Evander, son of Hermes and an Arcadian nymph called Themis. He was the founder of Pallantium. Pallantium became one of the cities that was merged later into the

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 2.1
/ref> * Hermes, god of gymnasium, public speaking, thievery * Pan, god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs * Themis, a local

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, lover of Hermes and mother of Evander. Romans called her Carmenta. * Arcas, a mythological king of Arcadia, from which the region takes its name * Lycaon, a king of Arcadia turned into a wolf. He had fifty sons, many of which gave their names to various towns in the region. * Callisto, daughter of Lycaon and follower of the goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

. She was turned into a bear and shot, becoming the constellation

Ursa Major Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa M ...

Notes

References

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

. ''Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt, Vol I-IV'', translated by Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig, 1885
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, ''Histories'', A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1920;
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'', Brookes More, Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, ''Geography'', Editors, H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A., London. George Bell & Sons. 1903
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* {{Authority control * * Pan (god)