Medieval history[edit]

After the collapse of the Roman power in the west, Arcadia remained as part of the Greek-
speaking Byzantine Empire. Arcadia remained a beautiful, secluded area, and its inhabitants
became proverbial as herdsmen leading simple pastoral unsophisticated yet happy lives, to the point
that Arcadia may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by Virgil's Eclogues, and
later by Jacopo Sannazaro in his pastoral masterpiece, Arcadia (1504); see also Arcadia (utopia).
After the Fourth Crusade, the area became a part of the Principality of Achaea, but was
progressively recovered by the Byzantine Greeks of the Despotate of the Morea from the 1260s on,
a process that was completed in 1320. The region fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1460.
With the exception of a period of Venetian rule in 1687–1715, the region remained under Turkish
control until 1821.
The Latin phrase Et in Arcadia ego, which is usually interpreted to mean "Even in Arcadia there am
I", is an example of memento mori, a cautionary reminder of the transitory nature of life and the
inevitability of death. The phrase is most often associated with a 1647 painting by Nicolas Poussin,
also known as "The Arcadian Shepherds". In the painting the phrase appears as an inscription on a
tomb discovered by youthful figures in classical garb.

Modern history[edit]

Commander Panagiotis Kephalas raising the Maniot flag in Tripoli (Tripolitsa), the capital of Arcadia, after the
successful siege.

Arcadia was one of the centres of the Greek War of Independence which saw victories in their
battles including one in Tripoli. After a victorious revolutionary war, Arcadia was finally incorporated
into the newly created Greek state. Arcadia saw economic growth and small emigration.
In the 20th century, Arcadia experienced extensive population loss through emigration, mostly to
the Americas. Many Arcadian villages lost half their inhabitants, and fears arose that they would turn
into ghost towns. Arcadia now has a smaller population than Corinthia. Demographers expected that
its population would halve between 1951 and the early 21st century. The population has fallen to
87,000 in 2011.