Arcadia (regional unit) in the context of "Ancient Elis"

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.

The Evrotas (Modern Greek: Ευρώτας) or Eurotas (Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) is the main river of Laconia and one of the major rivers of the Peloponnese, in Greece. The river's springs are located just northwest of the border between Laconia and Arcadia, at Skortsinos. The river is also fed by underwater springs at Pellana and by tributaries coursing down from Mt. Taygetos and Mt. Parnon, which flank the Evrotas Valley to the west and east, respectively. The river is 82 kilometres (51 mi) long, flowing in a north-south direction and emptying into the Laconian Gulf. Its drainage basin is 2,239 km (864 sq mi).

The Argolic Gulf (Greek: Αργολικός κόλπος, romanized: Argolikós kólpos), also known as the Gulf of Argolis, is a gulf of the Aegean Sea off the east coast of the Peloponnese, Greece. It is about 50 km long and 30 km wide. Its main port is Nafplio, at its northwestern end. At the entrance to the gulf is the island Spetses. This gulf and its islands are sometimes combined with the Saronic Gulf and Saronic Islands, with the result called the Argo-Saronic Gulf and the Argo-Saronic Islands. It is surrounded by two regional units: Arcadia to the southwest and Argolis to the north and east. The river Inachos drains into the Argolic Gulf near Nea Kios. The main islands in the gulf are Psili, Plateia and Bourtzi, a small island with a Venetian fortress that protects the port of Nafplio. The surrounding mountains protect it from the strong summer Meltemi wind.

The main towns that lie around the gulf are, from southwest to east:

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.

Aphrodite Pandemos (Ancient Greek: Πάνδημος, romanized: Pándēmos; "common to all the people") occurs as an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. This epithet can be interpreted in different ways. In Plato's Symposium, Pausanias of Athens describes Aphrodite Pandemos as the goddess of sensual pleasures, in opposition to Aphrodite Urania, or "the heavenly Aphrodite". At Elis, she was represented as riding on a ram by Scopas. Another interpretation is that of Aphrodite uniting all the inhabitants of a country into one social or political body. In this respect she was worshipped at Athens along with Peitho (persuasion), and her worship was said to have been instituted by Theseus at the time when he united the scattered townships into one great body of citizens. According to some authorities, it was Solon who erected the sanctuary of Aphrodite Pandemos, either because her image stood in the agora, or because the hetairai had to pay the costs of its erection. The worship of Aphrodite Pandemos also occurs at Megalopolis in Arcadia, and at Thebes. A festival in honour of her is mentioned by Athenaeus. The sacrifices offered to her consisted of white goats. Pandemos occurs also as a surname of Eros. According to Harpocration, who quotes Apollodorus, Aphrodite Pandemos has very old origins, "the title Pandemos was given to the goddess established in the neighborhood of the Old Agora because all the Demos (people) gathered there of old in their assemblies which they called agorai." To honour Aphrodite's and Peitho's role in the unification of Attica, the Aphrodisia festival was organized annually on the fourth of the month of Hekatombaion (the fourth day of each month was the sacred day of Aphrodite). The Synoikia that honoured Athena, the protectress of Theseus and main patron of Athens, also took place in the month of Hekatombaion.

Christine Downing comments that, "Pausanias's description of the love associated with Aphrodite Pandemos as dedicated only to sensual pleasure and therefore directed indifferently to women and men, and that associated with the Ouranian Aphrodite as "altogether male" and dedicated to the education of the soul of the beloved is actually an innovation—for Aphrodite Ourania was served in Corinth by prostitutes and Aphrodite Pandemos was the goddess as worshipped by the whole community."

Achaea (/əˈkiːə/) or Achaia (/əˈkaɪə/; Greek: Ἀχαΐα, Akhaḯa, Ancient Greek: [akʰaía]) is the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries are: to the south, Mount Erymanthus; to the south-east, Mount Cyllene; to the east, Sicyon; and to the west, the Larissos river. Apart from the plain around Dyme in the west, Achaea is generally a mountainous region.

Tripoli (Greek: Τρίπολη, romanized: Trípoli; Katharevousa: Τρίπολις, romanized: Trípolis) is a city in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the Peloponnese region as well as of the regional unit of Arcadia. The homonymous municipality had 44,165 inhabitants in 2021.