Arcadia is a poetical name for fantasy land (having more or less the same notation as Utopia ), named after the Greek land.

According to Greek mythology, Pan the shepherd goat lived in Arcadia. Greek mythology inspired the Roman poet Virgil to write his Eclogues, a series of poems set in Arcadia. As a result of the influence of Virgil in medieval European literature (see, for example, The Divine Comedy), Arcadia became a symbol of pastoral simplicity. European Renaissance writers (for instance, the Spanish poet Garcilaso de la Vega) often revisited the theme, and the name came to apply to any idyllic location or paradise. Unlike the word "utopia" (named for Thomas More's book, Utopia), "Arcadia" does not carry the connotation of a human-designed civilization.

In 1993, Tom Stoppard wrote an acclaimed play with this title, referring to the sense of classical beauty and order associated with Arcadia.

Arcadia was also the title of an influential heroic romance by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney.

Arcadia was the name of one of the twin worlds in best-selling PC-game The Longest Journey. Arcadia was the world of fantasy, dreams and magic, while its twin, Stark, was ours, the world of science.

See also

• Arcadia
• Golden Age
• Millennialism
• Et in Arcadia ego (painting)
• Utopia
• Neverland