Arcadia

Arcadia, mountainous region of the central Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos) of ancient Greece. The pastoral character of Arcadian life together with its isolation are reflected in the fact that it is represented as a paradise in Greek and Roman bucolic poetry and in the literature of the Renaissance. The region is not exactly coextensive with the present-day perifereiakí enótita (regional unit) of Arcadia (Modern Greek: Arkadía), which extends on the east to the Gulf of Argolís (Argolikós Kólpos).

The plateau of Arcadia, with basins at elevations of 1,650 to 3,300 feet (500 to 1,000 meters), is bounded on the north by the Erímanthos and Killíni mountains and is itself divided by numerous subsidiary ranges. In eastern Arcadia the ranges enclose a series of plains drained only by underground channels. The western plateau is more open, with isolated mountains through which wind the Alpheus River and its tributaries. One of those, the Ládhon, provides hydroelectric power at a dam and reservoir. A region of erratic rainfall, Arcadia has a few vineyards but no olive trees. There are patches of oak forest, but the eastern reaches are drier and less verdant.

In ancient times Arcadia was bounded on the north by Achaea, on the south by Messenia (Messinía) and Laconia (Lakonía), on the east by Argolís, and on the west by Elis. It was thus cut off from the coast on all sides. Because it was isolated from the rest of mainland Greece, Arcadia was not occupied by the Dorians during their invasion of Greece (1100–1000 bce), and it retained a dialect that still resembles that of the Greeks who settled in Cyprus (the Arcado-Cypriot dialects). By 550 bce Tegea, Mantinea, and the smaller Arcadian towns had all accepted forced alliances with Sparta, and discord between the towns subsequently prevented them from uniting against Spartan power. Most Arcadians remained faithful to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 bce), though in 370 bce the Arcadian League, with its capital at Megalopolis, united the Arcadians for a few decades before internal discord paralyzed their confederation. In Roman times Arcadia fell into decay. It was a scene of conflict during the War of Greek Independence (1821–29). Area 1,706 square miles (4,418 square km). Pop. (2001) regional unit, 91,326; (2011) regional unit, 86,685.