 | Arcadia: Encyclopedia - Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas.
Arcadia - Modern Arcadia
Arcadia has its present-day capital at Tripoli. It forms the largest prefecture on the Peloponnesian peninsula. It currently covers about 18% of the entire peninsula, although it once extended to about 20 to 25% of the peninsula.
The prefecture has a skiing resort on Mount Maenalus, the Mainalon, located about 20 km NW of Tripoli. The other mountains include the Parnon in the southeast, the Artemisio, the Saita, the Skiathio, the Lykaia and Tsiberou.
The Greece Interstate 7 (E65) freeway, which was extended after 1997 and in 2003, runs through Arcadia on a north-west to south-east axis and nearly forms in the southwest the end of the freeway. A thermoelectric power station which produces electricity for most of southern Greece, operates to the south of Megalopolis, along with a coal mine.
Arcadia has two tunnels. The Artemisio Tunnel opened first, followed by the tunnel east of Megalopolis; both serve traffic flowing between Messenia and Athens.
The chief cities and communities in the prefecture include Tripoli, Astros, Vytina, Dimitsana, Lagkadia, Leonidio, Leontari, Levidi, Megalopolis and Stemnitsa.
In agriculture, potato farms, mixed farming, olive groves, and pasture dominate the plains of Arcadia, especially in the area around Megalopolis and between Tripoli and Levidi.
Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770 - 1843), a general in the Greek War of Independence (1821 - 1832), lived in Arcadia.
Arcadia - Persons
- Ancient Olympic victors:
- Androsthenes of Maenalus, won gold in 420 and 416 BC
- Euthymenes of Maenalus, won gold in 400 and 392 BC
- Mimis Fotopoulos (April 1913 in Zatouna Gortynias - 1986 in Athens)
- Kostas Karyotakis (October 30, 1896 – July 20, 1928 in Preveza)
Arcadia - Climate
The climate consists of hot summers and mild winters in the eastern part, the southern part, the low lying areas and the central area at altitudes lower than 1,000 m. The area primarily receives rain during fall and winter months in the rest of Arcadia. Winter snow occurs commonly in the mountainous areas for much of the west and the northern part, the Taygetus area, the Mainalon.
Arcadia - History
Due to its remote, mountainous character, Arcadia has always been a classical refuge. So during the Dorian invasion, when Mycenaean Greek was replaced with Doric Greek along the coast of the Peloponnes, it survived in Arcadia, developing into the Arcadocypriot dialect of Classical Antiquity. Arcadocypriot never became a literary dialect, but it is known from inscriptions. Tsan is a letter of the Greek alphabet occurring only in Arcadia, shaped like cyrillic И; it represents an affricate that developed from labiovelars in context where they became t in other dialects.
One of the birth-places reported for Zeus is Mount Lycaeum in Arcadia. Lycaon, a cannibalistic Pelasgian king, was transformed into a werewolf by Zeus. Lycaon's daughter was Callisto. It was also said to have been the birthplace of Zeus' son, Hermes.
Arcadia remained a rustic, secluded area, and its inhabitants became proverbial as primitive herdsmen leading simple pastoral unsophisticated yet happy lives, to the point that Arcadia may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by Vergil's Eclogues, set in Arcadia, see also Arcadia (paradise).
The phrase Et in Arcadia ego goes back to a 1647 painting by Nicolas Poussin, also known as "The Arcadian shepherds". where it appears as an inscription on a tomb.
In the 20th century, Arcadia experienced extensive population loss through emigration, mostly to the Americas. Many Arcadian villages lost almost half their inhabitants, and fears arose that they would turn into ghost towns. Arcadia now has a smaller population than Corinthia. Demographers expected that its population would halve between 1951 and the early 21st century.
In the mid to late 20th century a power plant began operating.
Arcadia - Population
- 1951: 154,361 (density: 34.93/km²)
- 1961: 134,950
- 1971: 111,263 (density: 23.5/km²)
- 1991: 103,840
- 2001: 102,025
Arcadia - Transportation
- Greece Interstate 7
- Greece Interstate 33, N
- Greece Interstate 37, Cen, S
- Greece Interstate 74, NW, N
- Greece Interstate 76, W, SW
Arcadia - Communications
Arcadia - Television
- Arkadiki Radiophonia Teleorassi - ART
Arcadia - Provinces
Arcadia has 4 provinces:
- Province of Gortynia - Dimitsana
- Province of Kynouria - Leonidi
- Province of Mantineia - Tripoli
- Province of Megalopoli - Megalopoli
Arcadia - Municipalities and communities
See also: List of settlements in the Arcadia prefecture
Other related archives1647, 1896, 1913, 1928, 1951, 1961, 1971, 1986, 1991, 20th century, 21st century, 392 BC, 400, 416 BC, 420, Americas, Ancient Olympic victors, Androsthenes, Arcadia (paradise), Arcadocypriot, Arcas, Astros, Athens, Callisto, Classical Antiquity, Corinthia, Dimitsana, Dorian invasion, Doric Greek, Eclogues, Et in Arcadia ego, Greece, Greece Interstate 33, Greece Interstate 37, Greece Interstate 7, Greece Interstate 74, Greece Interstate 76, Greek, Greek War of Independence, Greek alphabet, July 20, Kostas Karyotakis, Lagkadia, Leontari, Levidi, List of settlements in the Arcadia prefecture, List of traditional Greek place names, Lycaon, Maenalus, Mainalon, Megalopolis, Messenia, Mimis Fotopoulos, Mycenaean Greek, Nicolas Poussin, October 30, Pelasgian, Peloponnesus, Preveza, Province of Megalopoli, Stemnitsa, Taygetus, Television, Theodoros Kolokotronis, Transportation, Tripoli, Tsan, Vergil, Vytina, Zeus, labiovelars, pastoral, prefecture, werewolf, И
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arcadia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
