Arcadia Ἀρκαδία | |
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Historical region | |
 Landscape of Arcadia | |
 Ancient Arcadia in the center of the Peloponnese | |
| Location | Peloponnese |
| Major cities | Mantineia,Tegea,Orchomenus |
| Dialects | Arcado-Cypriot |
| Key periods | 4th century BC |
Arcadia (/ɑːrˈkeɪdiə/;Greek:Ἀρκαδία,romanized: Arkadía) is a region in the centralPeloponnese, Greece. It takes its name from the mythological characterArcas, and inGreek mythology it was the home of the godsHermes andPan. In EuropeanRenaissance arts,Arcadia was celebrated as an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness; as such, it was referenced in popular culture.
The modernregional unit of the same name more or less overlaps with the historical region, but is slightly larger.
Arcadia was gradually linked in a loose confederation that included all the Arcadian towns and was namedLeague of the Arcadians. In the 7th century BC, it successfully faced the threat ofSparta and the Arcadians managed to maintain their independence. They participated in thePersian Wars alongside other Greeks by sending forces toThermopylae andPlataea. During thePeloponnesian War, Arcadia allied with Sparta andCorinth. In the following years, during the period of thehegemony ofThebes, the Theban generalEpaminondas reinforced the Arcadian federation in order to rival neighboring Sparta. Then he foundedMegalopolis, which became its new capital. Over the next centuries Arcadia weakened. It initially was subjugated by theMacedonians and later the Arcadians joined theAchaean League.
Geographically, ancient Arcadia occupied the highlands at the centre of the Peloponnese. To the north, it borderedAchaea along the ridge of high ground running fromMount Erymanthos toMount Cyllene; most ofMount Aroania lay within Arcadia. To the east, it had borders withArgolis andCorinthia along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Cyllene round toMount Oligyrtus and then southMount Parthenius. To the south, the borders withLaconia andMessenia ran through the foothills of theParnon andTaygetos mountain ranges, such that Arcadia contained all the headwaters of theAlpheios river, but none of theEurotas river. To the south-west, the border with Messania ran along the tops ofMount Nomia, andMount Elaeum, and from there the border withElis ran along the valleys of theErymanthos andDiagon rivers. Most of the region of Arcadia was mountainous, apart from the plains aroundTegea andMegalopolis, and the valleys of the Alpheios andLadon rivers.
The Arcadians were an ancient Greek tribe which was situated in the mountainous Peloponnese. It was considered one of the oldest Greek tribes in Greece, part of or a relative tribe of the aboriginal inhabitants of Greece (calledPelasgians by ancient Greek authors[1]), as described by Herodotus[2] and in ancient myths such as those ofArcas andLycaon.
Arcadia is also one of the regions described in the "Catalogue of Ships" in theIliad; its troops were led byAgapenor.[3]Agamemnon himself gave Agapenor the ships for theTrojan War because Arcadia did not have its own.
The Arcadians founded numerous towns. Of these the strongest were the cities which controlled the few fertile valleys;Mantinea,Tegea andOrchomenos. The remaining towns were more mountainous or had smaller plains. Some of these wereNostia,[4]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 becameMegalopolis.
Arcadia was the location of the cult ofDespoina, 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.[5] Despoina, along withDemeter, was the primary deity worshipped in Arcadia,[5] and was particularly worshipped at a sanctuary atLycosura.
The Arcadians had their own unique myths, which were mainly centered around Despoina and Demeter. Another important god in Arcadia wasAnytos, who was said to be a Titan who raised Despoina.[6]
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