Everything about Arcadia totally explained
Arcadia or
Arkadía (
Greek Αρκαδία) is a region of
Greece in the
Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character
Arcas.
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
Greek National Road 7 (E65) highway, 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 highway. 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.
In agriculture, potato farms (dominant in central and northcentral Arcadia), mixed farming, olive groves, and pasture dominate the plains of Arcadia, especially in the area around Megalopolis and between Tripoli and Levidi. One of these cuisines were featured on
Mega Channel's cooking show hosted by
Mamalakis that was shown on prime time.
Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770 - 1843), a general in the
Greek War of Independence (1821 - 1832), lived in Arcadia.
Dimitris Plapoutas (1786-1864), a general in the
Greek War of Independence, also lived in Arcadia.
The chief cities and communities in the prefecture include
Tripoli,
Astros,
Vytina,
Dimitsana,
Lagkadia,
Leonidio,
Leontari,
Levidi,
Megalopolis Paloumba and
Stemnitsa.
Ancient cities include
Asea, Astros,
Athinaio,
Daseae,
Falaisia (Phalesia),
Gortys, Hypsus (
Stemnitsa,
Irea,
Lusi,
Lykaio,
Megalopoli,
Tegea,
Thoknia,.
Trapezus,
Tropaia,
Tripoli and more.
Provinces
Arcadia has 4 provinces:
Municipalities and communities
See also:
List of settlements in the Arcadia prefecture
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.
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's 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.
Tsakonian Greek, still spoken on the coast of the modern prefecture of Arcadia, in the Classical period considered the southern
Argolid coast immediately adjoining Arcadia, is a descendant of
Doric Greek, and as such is an extraordinary example of a surviving regional dialect of archaic Greek. The capital of
Tsakonia is the Arcadian coastal town of
Leonidio.
One of the birthplaces 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
Virgil's
Eclogues, and later by
Jacopo Sannazaro in his pastoral masterpiece,
Arcadia (1504); see also
Arcadia (utopia).
Arcadia later joined the
Roman Empire and later the
Byzantine Empire. In the early-
1st millennium, the area became a part of the
Frankish Empire. In the mid-15th century, the region fell into the hands of the
Ottoman Turks with some exceptions in the 16th century for a couple of years. During these periods, many towns and villages were founded.
The Latin phrase
Et in Arcadia ego which is usually interpreted to mean "I am also in Arcadia" or "I am even in Arcadia" is an example of
memento mori, a cautionary reminder of the transitory nature of life and the inevitability of death. The phrase is most often associated with a 1647 painting by
Nicolas Poussin, also known as "The Arcadian Shepherds". In the painting the phrase appears as an inscription on a tomb discovered by youthful figures in classical garb. It has been suggested that the phrase is an anagram for the Latin phrase "I! Tego arcana Dei", which translates to "Begone! I keep God's secrets."
After 400 years of occupation by the Ottomans, Arcadia was the epicentre of the
Greek War of Independence which saw victories in their battles including one in
Tripoli which saw the Greek revolutionaries slaughter around 30,000 Turks. After a victorious revolutionary war, Arcadia was finally incorporated into a newly-created Greek state. Arcadia saw economic growth and small emigration.
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'd 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. The prefectural population is in a range to a point that could fall below the 100,000 mark which could make it the next prefecture in Greece to have less than 100,000 people.
After
World War II and the
Greek Civil War, many villages and towns were rebuilt.
An enormous earthquake with a 5 Richter scale range shook Megalopoli and the surrounding area. Many buildings were destroyed, leaving people homeless. Within a couple of years, the buildings were rebuilt anti-seismically. In 1967, construction began on the
Megalopoli Power Plant. It began operating in 1970, producing electricity for southern Greece. A mining area south of the plant is the largest mining area in the peninsula and continues to the present day with one settlement moved.
Water problems troubled local residents protesting over the rights of water usage with the Argolida and its new reservoir near
Saga, on
July 3,
2007. On
July 27, a wildfire broke out in
Gortynia in the western portion, threatening several nearby villages and burning a small portion of the forested area. Less than a month later, another minor forest fire occurred near
Tropaia, on Thursday
August 23. A day later, the minor fire became a major blaze beginning in the southwest of Arcadia
Soulos. Arson-related fires spread and burned villages including
Chrousa,
Leontari,
Vasta,
Tourkoleka,
Dirahi, near Megalopoli,
Makryssi and
Anavryto, and burned around 5% of the prefecture and the southwestern portion. The fire raging in the southern Ilia prefecture spread into Arcadia, and began to burn
Atsicholos and the area around
Karytaina. Residents prevented the fire from entering Megalopoli, Karytaina, and its surrounding area by chopping down trees, preventing it from entering the village ; helicopters received water from
Lake Taka and the sea. The fires continued from Friday
August 24, with high winds and hot temperatures reported at 42°C ; the outbreaks slowed slowed three days later but progressed on Tuesday
August 27. The blazes finally died down when temperatures dropped and a low pressure system from southern Europe brought rain into the area ; roads had been closed and electricity cut off for several days. At the extinguishing of the fire, hundreds of mobile homes were sent to inhabitants who had lost houses. Trees and a number of groves are to be planted, but it's expected to take a few years to restore part of the area's natural beauty and forest. Less seriously for the area, Kynouria experienced weather problems in the winter, with a snowstorm affecting Leonidi and the village of
Agios Petros on
February 10,
2008.
Major roads or highways:
Secondary roads:
Communications
Arkadiki Radiophonia Teleorassi - ART
Sports teams
Arcadia Shepherds is the South African football (soccer) club from the city of Pretoria. The club was formed in 1903 and has been a source of players from its youth system that have gone on to higher profile careers overseas. The club's glory year was 1974, when it won every competition entered.
Asteras Tripolis is the Greek soccer club from the city of Tripoli.
Leonidio FC is the Greek soccer club from the town of Leonidio.
Persons
Ancient Olympic victors:
Angelos Angelopoulos, economist, professor of the University of Athens
Mimis Fotopoulos (April 1913 in Zatouna Gortynias - 1986 in Athens)
Nikos Gatsos, poet
Costas Gavras, actor
Kostas Karyotakis (October 30, 1896 – July 20, 1928 in Preveza)
Yiannis Kouros, ultramarathon runner
Giorgos Merikas, doctor
Georgios Mistriois, philologist
Dimitris Mitropoulos
Vasileios Oikonomou, lawman
Giannis Panou, poet
Vasilis Papakonstantinou, singer and director
Dimitrios Paparrigopoulos
Giorgos Santas, with Manolis Glezos, he was famous for restoring the Greek flag at the Acropolis after nearly three and a half years of non-Greek occupation of the Battle of Greece in 1944, a part of World War II.
Ilias Simopoulos, poet
Georgios Stamatopoulos
Kostas Tournas, director?, poet and singer
Babis Tsertos, singer
Stavros Tsiolis, actor
Georgios Valkans, chemist
Thanassis Valtinos, poet
Kollias the Vytinioti
Simos Chatzis, soccer player
Atalanta, a greek mythic woman said to have been the daughter of the King of Arcadia
References in popular culture
The Greek and Latin name Arcadius/Arkadios was derived from "Arcadia" (see the Emperor Arcadius, the grammarian Arcadius of Antioch, the patriarch Arkadios II). From Greek it passed in Russian, Ukrainian, and other Slavic languages, where it's a common male name as Arkady or Arcady.
The area of the prefecture were featured in several ERT programs including documentaries on the Megalopoli Mine and Ladon Lake
In the 2006 Doctor Who episode 'Doomsday', the Doctor mentions being 'there at the fall of Arcadia', where Arcadia is insinuated to be an unspecified area of possible strategic importance in the Time War, unlikely to be the Arcadia of Greece.
In the video game BioShock, "Arcadia" is the name of an area in one of the levels, with an artificial forest and touted as a vacation paradise.
In the Stardust Classics children's fantasy novels, Arcadia is the name of a kingdom ruled by the young Princess Alissa.
In the film 300 Leonidas is joined by a group of Arcadians to help him fight against the Persians.
In Space Pirate Captain Harlock, the show's main ship is called Arcadia, perhaps hinting that the ship itself is a sort of refuge to pirates.
In the text MUD Achaea, Arcadia is the home of a race of winged humans (Atavians).
In the film The Scorpion King, the three assassins are Akkadians.
In the serie of games Megaman Zero, (Neo) Arcadia is the utopian city where humans live in apparent peace with reploids."
The word Arcadia has become a poetic idylism meaning "Utopia. Pete Doherty is among many who has used this symbol in their work."
The name of the planet in the game Skies of Arcadia is Arcadia. It is a planet with a completely barren wasteland floor level, but is mainly populated in it's sky, which has a large system of floating islands, each flourishing under six different colored moons that orbit the planet.
In the Playstation 2 Game Final Fantasy XII there's a militaristic city known as Archadia
In The TV series The Legend of Zelda the White Knight Character Appearing in Episode 3 comes from a city called Arcadia
The mythic world that adorns the album covers of the rock band Asia. Specifically the albums Alpha (1983) and Astra (1985)
Arcadia is one of twin worlds in the popular computer game the Longest Journey and it`s sequel Dreamfall.
Arcadia is the name of the number 1 ranked AC in Armored Core 3
Further Information
Get more info on 'Arcadia'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://arcadia.totallyexplained.com">Arcadia Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
