Arcadia << ahr KAY dee uh >>, one of the prefectures (political divisions) of present-day Greece, was an important region in ancient times. About 80,000 people live in this region of mountains and fertile valleys in the central Peloponnesus (Greece’s southern peninsula). Arcadia was the only part of the Peloponnesus not overrun by Dorians in the 1100’s B.C. In the 500’s B.C., Arcadia joined the Peloponnesian League, a military alliance of Peloponnesian cities led by Sparta. Arcadian cities remained loyal to Sparta until 369 B.C., when they formed their own defensive league. The Arcadian League soon split, but Macedonia and then the Achaean and Aetolian leagues protected Arcadia.
