Arcadia

Related Category: Ancient History, Greece

(ärkā´dēə), region of ancient Greece, in the middle of the Peloponnesus, without a seaboard, and surrounded and dissected by mountains. The Arcadians, relatively isolated from the rest of the world, lived a proverbially simple and natural life. By far the largest city was megalopolis, founded by Epaminondas. It had some political power, especially in the Arcadian League, but Arcadia as a whole was of little political significance. The independent mountaineers periodically fought against Spartan power, but did not cooperate well. Other cities were Mantinea, Tegea, Orchomenus, and Heraea.