Arcadia (/ɑːrˈkeɪdiə/; Greek: Ἀρκαδία, romanized: Arkadía) is a region in the central Peloponnese, Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in Greek mythology it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia was celebrated as an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness; as such, it was referenced in popular culture.
The modern regional unit of the same name more or less overlaps with the historical region, but is slightly larger.
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Mantinea (/ˌmæntəˈniːə/; Greek: Μαντίνεια Mantineia; also Koine Greek Ἀντιγόνεια Antigoneia) was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history.
In modern times it is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat was the village of Nestani (pop. 486 in 2011). It is located in the northeastern part of Arcadia. The municipal unit has a land area of 205.393 km and a population of 1,693 inhabitants (2021). Its largest other towns are Artemisio, Loukas, and Kapsas.
Messenia (Ancient Greek: Μεσσηνία) was an ancient district of the southwestern Peloponnese, more or less overlapping the modern Messenia region of Greece. It occupied the peninsular region usually called by the same name along with some of the mainland. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river. From there the border with Arcadia ran along the tops of Mount Elaeum and Mount Nomia and then through foothills of Taygetus. The eastern border with Laconia went along the Taygetus ridge up to the Koskaraka river, and then along that river to the sea, near the city of Abia. The Ionian Sea forms the peninsula's western border, and the peninsula and mainland sections enclose the Messenian Gulf to the south.
Ancient Messenia existed continuously without change of name and with little change of territory to the modern Regional Unit of Greece of the same name.
Argolis or Argolida (Greek: Αργολίδα Argolída [arɣoˈliða]; Ἀργολίς Argolís [arɡolís] in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tripoint area of Argolis, Arcadia and Corinthia. Much of the territory of this region is situated in the Argolid Peninsula.
Arcadocypriot, or southern Achaean, was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia (the central Peloponnese) and Cyprus. Its resemblance to Mycenaean Greek, as it is known from the Linear B corpus, indicates that they are closely related to it, and belong to the same dialect group, known as Achaean.
In Cyprus the dialect was written solely using the Cypriot syllabary. The most extensive surviving text of the dialect is the Idalion Tablet. A significant literary source on the vocabulary comes from the lexicon of grammarian Hesychius (probably 5th century AD).
Orchomenus or Orchomenos (Greek: Ὀρχομενός) was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece, called by Thucydides (v. 61) the Arcadian Orchomenus (Ὀρχομενός ὁ Ἀρκαδικός), to distinguish it from the Boeotian town.
Originating as a prehistoric settlement, Orchomenus became one of the powerful cities in West Arcadia along with Tegea and Mantineia. The heyday of the city was between 7th–6th century BC and it became a rich city which minted its own currency.
In Greek mythology, Timandra (Ancient Greek: Τιμάνδρα) was a Spartan princess and later queen of Arcadia.
The Battle of Mantinea was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians, Argives, Messenians, Thessalians, Euboeans and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would dominate Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors would cost Thebes the military leadership and initiative to maintain Theban supremacy in the region. Similarly, the Spartans were weakened by yet another defeat and loss of troops. Epaminondas' death coupled with the impact on the Spartans of yet another defeat weakened both alliances, and paved the way for Macedonian conquest led by Philip II of Macedon.
Pellana (/pəˈlænə/; Greek: ἡ Πέλλανα; τὰ Πέλλανα; Πελλήνη; Agis), was a city of ancient Lacedaemonia, on the Eurotas river, and on the road from Sparta to Arcadia.
Pellana is now a village and a municipal unit of the municipality of Sparti, Greece. It was a municipality until the 2011 local government reform. The municipal unit has an area of 153.763 km. The seat of the municipality was in Kastoreio. It was called Καλύβια Γεωργίτσι Kalivia Georgitsi (lit. the huts of Georgitsi) until it was renamed after a nearby ancient city in 1932.
Tegea (/ˈtiːdʒiə/; Greek: Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal unit with an area of 118.350 km. It is near the modern villages of Alea and Episkopi.
The legendary founder of Tegea was Tegeates, a son of Lycaon.