The central district of Peloponnesus, the great southern peninsula of Greece--a district surrounded by a singular mountain circle. "From the circle of mountains which has been pointed out, all the rivers of any note take their rise, and from it all the mountainous ranges diverge, which form the many headlands and points of Peloponnesus. The interior part of the country, however, has only one opening towards the western sea, through which all its waters flow united in the Alpheus. The peculiar character of this inland tract is also increased by the circumstance of its being intersected by some lower secondary chains of hills, which compel the waters of the valleys nearest to the great chains either to form lakes, or to seek a vent by subterraneous passages. Hence it is that in the mountainous district in the northeast of Peloponnesus many streams disappear and again emerge from the earth. This region is Arcadia; a country consisting of ridges of hills and elevated plains, and of deep and narrow valleys, with streams flowing through channels formed by precipitous rocks; a country so manifestly separated by nature from the rest of Peloponnesus that, although not politically united, it was always considered in the light of a single community. Its climate was extremely cold; the atmosphere dense, particularly in the mountains to the north; the effect which this had on the character and dispositions of the inhabitants has been described in a masterly manner by Polybius, himself a native of Arcadia." _C. O. Müller, History and Antiquity of the Doric Race, book 1, chapter 4._ "The later Roman poets were wont to speak of Arcadia as a smiling land, where grassy vales, watered by gentle and pellucid streams, were inhabited by a race of primitive and picturesque shepherds and shepherdesses, who divided their time between tending their flocks and making love to one another in the most tender and romantic fashion. This idyllic conception of the country and the people is not to be traced in the old Hellenic poets, who were better acquainted with the actual facts of the case. The Arcadians were sufficiently primitive, but there was very little that was graceful or picturesque about their land or their lives." _C. H. Hanson, The Land of Greece, pages 381-382._ ARCADIA: B. C. 371-362. The union of Arcadian towns. Restoration of Mantineia. Building of Megalopolis. Alliance with Thebes. Wars with Sparta and Elis. Disunion. Battle of Mantineia. See GREECE: B. C. 371, and 371-362. ARCADIA: B. C. 338. Territories restored by Philip of Macedon. See GREECE: B. C. 357-336. ARCADIA: B. C. 243-146. In the Achaian League. See GREECE: B. C. 280-146. ----------ARCADIA: End---------- ARCADIUS, Roman Emperor (Eastern), A. D. 395-408. ARCHIPELAGO, The Dukes of the.