Arcadia – Land of Nymphs Naiads and Dryads

The Arcadians were one of the oldest tribes of Greece, sometimes referred to by ancient Greek writers as the Pelasgians, meaning, people of The Aegean Sea.

In his “Description of Greece”, Pausanias, a Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD, mentions the Arcadians stating that:

 “When Arcas became king, Pelasgia was renamed “Arcadia” and its inhabitants (the Pelasgians) were renamed “Arcadians“

Arcadia, located in The Peloponnese in Southern Greece is known for the myth of Arcas, of whom Arcadia is named after; a hunter who became king of Arcadia and taught people the arts of weaving and baking bread.

It is also known for the myth of King Lycaon of Acardia, who was turned into a werewolf by the great god Zeus.

Arcadia in art and literature

  Virgil, (Roman poet) aroused by Arcadia, wrote his ‘The Eclogues‘ a series of poems, set in Arcadia, Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet and humanist, influenced by the other worldliness of the place, wrote his pastoral poem, ‘Arcadia‘.

In more recent times, Evelyn Waugh, chose the sub heading:

  “Et in Arcadia ego”, for the first part of his bestselling novel, ‘Brideshead Revisited’.

 “Et in Arcadia ego” is a Latin phrase, meaning, “In Arcadia, there I am”, the “I” referring to death, the “Arcadia” referring to paradise.

Arcadia was a fashionable subject for Renaissance art, Nicholas Poussin was so enamored of Arcadia that he painted two versions of a painting, using the title;

  “Et in Arcadiaego” (Les Bergerer d’ Arcardie)

 These superb paintings, “Et in Arcadia ego” by Poussin, show mythical shepherds, set in idyllic, pastoral scenes.

The caves of Kapsia, over three million years old, are said to have been home to the God Pan.

Arcadia was an idyllic place, a Shangri La but not created by man, it evolved naturally, an unspoiled wilderness, said in Greek mythology to be the original site of “The Golden Age”, an age of peace, harmony, stability and prosperity.

Arcadians were humble people, without hate or greed, living peacefully, as shepherds, uncorrupted by civilization.

In these blissful green pastures, cooled by flowing streams and rivers, lived nymphs, playful, mythical creatures, cavorting among the forests, valleys and dells, of this unobtainable, now lost world.

Naiads are freshwater nymphs (Saltwater nymphs are called Oceanids).

They ruled over wells, springs, brooks, rivers and lakes and had quite a reputation for being jealous little sprites.

These immortal naiads kept a look out for the young girls and women guiding them as they reached adulthood.

Dryads were the tree nymphs, their name deriving from the Greek word for oak tree.

They were shy beings who led long lives, living closely to the tree they were protecting.

Hamadryads, were actually tied to trees and when the tree died, they died.

If the tree blossomed, they blossomed.

Friends with the naiads and the dryads were the oreads, the mountain nymphs.

Their name comes from the Greek word for mountain; ὄρος or Orestiad, they differ from each other depending on which mountain they reside on: the Idaeae were from Mount Ida, Peliades from Mount Pelion, etc.

The Naiads, dryads, hamadryads and oreads all frolicked together or tended to their sheep in the groves and glens of mythical Arcadia, occasionally being chased by Pan, the God of nature, wilderness, fertility and spring.

 The God Pan, is depicted as a satyr, with a dark hairy body, two horns on his forehead, pointed ears, a snub nose and the legs and tail of a goat, wearing a crown of pine needles.

  The name Pan, is generally thought to come from the Greek word Pan, meaning “All” but it is derived from the word “Paein”, the Greek for “To pasture”

 Not surprising then, that this blissful, magical world called Arcadia, inhabited by hedonistic nymphs and salacious satyrs, a decadent pipe playing Romeo, oh, and the odd sheep, was the inspiration for some of the most beautiful, classic poems and alluring paintings.

 A veritable Paradise on Earth.