The New International Encyclopædia/Arcadia (region)

ARCA′DIA (Gk. Ἀρκαδία, Arkadia). The middle and highest part of the Peloponnesus, bounded on the north by Achaia, on the east by Argolis, on the south by Messenia and Laconia, and on the west by Elis. According to Pausanias, it derived its name from Arcas, the son of Callisto. Next to Laconia, Arcadia was the largest country in the Peloponnesus. It had an area of 1800 square miles, and was girt round by a circle of mountains, which cut off to a large extent its communication with the rest of the peninsula. Mountains also intersected it in different directions, forming a number of small cantons. The western part of what was anciently Arcadia is wild, bleak, and rugged, and covered with forests; the eastern is more fertile; and in the southeast are two plateaus, in which lay the chief ancient cities. The loftiest peak in Arcadia is Mount Cyllene, in the northeast, 7790 feet. The small rivers are either tributaries of the Alpheus (q.v.), or empty into inland lakes drained by underground channels (katavothra). The chief cities were Tegea (q.v.) and Mantinea (q.v.) in the southeast, and the great city, Megalopolis (q.v.), founded in B.C. 370 by Epaminondas as the capital of the Arcadian Confederacy. Further north were Orchomenus, Pheneus, Clitor, and Psophis. Owing to its isolation, Arcadia remained little affected by the Dorian conquest of the Peloponnesus, and its inhabitants were regarded as belonging to the original population of the peninsula; a belief confirmed by their dialect, which preserves some early forms and shows strong resemblances to the Cyprian. The nature of the country also prevented any lasting union among the inhabitants, and enabled the Spartans to maintain their supremacy until the battle of Leuctra. The confederation organized by Epaminondas had no real permanency, and until the Roman conquest the country was the scene of civil strife. The inhabitants were brave, hardy, and fond of fighting, so that they were in great demand as mercenaries. Among their shepherds and hunters the chief deities seem to have been Pan, Artemis, and Zeus, who was worshiped with human sacrifices on Mount Lycæon till a comparatively late date. A form of pastoral poetry seems to have developed in Arcadia, which was at first crowded into the background by the Sicilian bucolics of Theocritus; but later revived and influenced the Roman poets, whence Arcadia has become a synonym for an idyllic pastoral country of peace, innocence, and simplicity.