Arcadiia and the Arcadian world legacy

Speech by Pedro Olalla, held within the framework of the collaboration with MEGARON PLUS and sponsored by the charitable foundation Social and Cultural Work and the Athens Concert Hall Organization. Athens, 17-12-2012. P. Olalla is Professor of Spanish and Greek Philology, author, photographer, Professor of Geography of Myths in the Center for Hellenic Studies of Harvard University, Ambassador of Hellenism, founder and former Director of the International Society for Arcadia and one of the instigators for the creation of the Arcadia International Network.

I will try to briefly present you the cultural background which inspires and supports our initiative, and inform you about the two major steps that the International Society for Arcadia attempts to make to contribute to a better utilization, for the benefit of all, of the immense wealth associated with Arcadia through the centuries.
What is this wealth, this common possession we call Arcadian legacy. It is, in essence, a creation that took place over a long period of time, over a multiplex image.
In the mind of the ancient Greeks and Romans, Arcadia was the land of origins, for both ancestors and settlers; a mountainous land, far away from the sea, inhabited by humble and pious people, side by side with the gods of untamed nature, hospitable people, shepherds, lovers of music and the simple life, blissful, close to the Golden Age of Cronus. It
was the land where the voice of the oracles had singled out the happiest and the humblest of the people.
In Virgil’s days, Arcadia becomes one with the distant echoes of the myth of the Golden Age; in the works of the Latin elegists it proclaims the idea of love as the true meaning of life; in the early days of Christianity, it impregnates the first literary attempts of the new era with pagan allure.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Arcadia remains halfhidden in the shadow of the biblical paradise and imbues the concept of the locus amoenus with its essence and pastoral character.
In the first days of the Renaissance it greatly reinforces the rediscovery of Greece; as the first European conquerors set foot on the American continent, it leaves a strong mark on the concept of the New World.
Originating from 16th-century Italy, Ar adia conquers the literatures of Spain, France and England. On the strength of this triumphal progress it inspires the birth of landscape painting and the birth of opera, lends its images to mystical expression, opens the road for modern Greek language to join the tradition of the Renaissance, and breathes life into the seminal works of German, Dutch and Polish literature.
While it glorifies the human body in the first paintings depicting the nude, Arcadia serves as an allegory or as a guise for the complex world of the palace court and as a refuge from the increasing religious fanaticism.
In the voices of the most sensitive poets, it sings, as it had in the past, of the pain for the loss of beloved persons; in the hands of philosophers, painters and alchemists, it becomes a dark and apocryphal motto: ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
Later, in a world weary of the excesses of Baroque, Arcadia once more claims the harmony of Classicism. In an enlightened age when man seeks to redefine society, Arcadia reminds us of the innate goodness of people.
Arcadia projects itself onto the virgin islands of Polynesia upon the arrival of the first Europeans; with the Romantics it reflects on nature, happiness, beauty, and death; and with the first travellers of Jan Frans van Bloemen (1662-1749) that turbulent and visionary era it sets in motion a crucial process for the re-Hellenization of Greece

View of the Roman Countryside with Conversing Figures
Oil on canvas - 34,2 x 25 cm
County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA

With the growth of industry, it denounces the savagery of capitalism and revises the idea of progress; in the virgin lands of the new continents, it inspires the foundation of settlements and towns, and laments the threat against the rural world;
contrary to prudery and fake morality, it defends free love; contrary to the excesses of ambition and unscrupulousness, it reconciles man with nature; contrary to war and abuse, it constantly and instinctively rebels to defend peace.
In Cyprus at the beginning of the 20th century, Demetrius Limpertis creates with genuine traits of delivery the first Arcadian rural and idyllic chant for the land of Cyprus in the Cypriot dialect. Many of the lyrics of the extensive project remind the rustic images of the ancient shepherds in Theokritos; while others have the didactic and ethical character of Hessiod; and some, inevitably, reflect the agonizing desire of the people to keep their Greek and Christian identity. The Cypriot Songs by
Limperti expressed so well the feeling of the people he portraits, that many of his verses are considered today "anonymous" folk songs.
Therefore, Arcadia is not only a Greek province with a name that dates back to antiquity, but also – and primarily – a sweet-sounding name that has prevailed within our civilization as an evocation of nature, harmony, innocence, the joy of life,
sensitivity, fairness, simplicity, moderation and the return to the essence of things. Ultimately, Arcadia is the vision of a simple and attainable happiness, the faint and evocative image of a place where man does not feel uprooted.
This image is the ecumenical image of Arcadia, which survived in the course of time, precisely because it is an image: it is neither a belief, nor a doctrine, or a utopia. It is not the imposition of the good, but the capturing towards the best. It is not
revolution, but persuasion. It is a constant in our civilization, which attracts everlasting attention to what is essential, good and fair.
Thus, the Arcadian Legacy is on the one hand a tangible and material legacy, but at the same time a stance to life which concerns both the present and future. Books, pictures, music and theatre, as well as philosophical thought, political vision, social activism and sincere concern for man, consist the Arcadian legacy a bequest both moral and aesthetic, a glorious on-going creation, of which we are not only inheritors but also continuators, communicants and contributors in its evolution. In this, Arcadia emerges before us as a challenge.
Today the advancement of the idea of Arcadia is not tantamount to the fostering of tradition or nostalgia; it is not a renunciation of the world nor is it a desire to transform ourselves into poetshepherds; nor does it mean that we sell tourism
branded with an undeniable prestige.
It is the adoption of this truly open and creative attitude to life which has always been symbolized by the name of this place. It is the decision to join in an endeavour for the sake of humanity; an endeavour which comes from a distant past but
remains always timely.
Now, challenges such as ecological behaviour, fair trade, sustainable development, humanistic consciousness and man’s reconciliation with the self and his environment continue and expand gestures of our times, endeavours made over the
centuries behind the poetic image of Arcadia.
Today, there are many institutions and people around the world that maintain these worthwhile stances, and many of them doing so with full awareness that their efforts are closely associated with the idea of Arcadia.
For example, the Association Arcadie. Based in Southern France with collaborators worldwide, conducts research on therapeutic and aromatic plants, spices and natural extracts in order to achieve the upgrade of food industry.
In the French regeon of Marchoux, the area around Forez is known as ' Arcadia ' and institutions as Jardin de Astrée and the Centre Culturel de Goutelas, based in the famous namesake Château utilise the Arcadian Legacy to carry out valuable
initiatives that combine ecological development with social justice, humanitarianism and life-long learning.

Peter Scheemakers
Et in Arcadia Ego 1748-1763,
Monument in marble and stone.
Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, Αγγλία.

The largest and most beautiful National Park of the area of Mississippi is named Acadia National Park, and is a pioneer in the application of measures over the environmental threat from the ozone.
Philadelphia is the base of Arcadia University, one of the most prestigious Universities in the USA, specializing in the humanities and educational programmes abroad which cultivate in the American students pluralism and the pursuit of deep
knowledge of the Greek cultural legacy.
From New Zealand to Zimbabwe, from Jamaica to the pampa in Argentina, more than forty cities in the world bear the name of Arcadia, since their founding was inspired by the natural beauty of their environment and the classical symbolism of the name of this area in Greece.
Among them the City of Arcadia in California presents with pride its superb botanical and agricultural Gardens of Arboretum, while the City of Arcadia in Florida – thanks to the well-preserved colonial architecture and its privileged location in the heavenly Valley of Peace River – has earned the title of the “Best Small Town in America”.
In Paphos, where archaeology came to confirm the ancient traditions for the Arcadian origin of Cypriots we welcomed our as new members of the Network the newly established Neapolis University, with the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Landscape Architecture, as well as the Evagoras Pallikaridis Cultural Association, which promotes arts and cultural tradition.
In Nicosia the historic Pancyprion Gymnasium was declared as the symbolic see of the International Society for Arcadia, since its students are regarded as “arcadian branches”.
The University of Trier in Germany treasures one of the finest collections of prints and drawings dated from 1570 to 1850 on Arcadia. In 2012 a new Symphony Orchestra based in London, consisting of volunteer members, soloists, students and retired musicians of famous orchestras of Europe, based in Britain, was named Arcadia Mundi Orchestra and began an international career with our cooperation.
These cities, these companies, these institutions and these people are currently, or potentially, interlocutors and collaborators in the initiative we decided to accomplish, namely the establishment of an International Society for the study and utilization of the Arcadian world legacy, for the benefit of all, under the name of the International Society for Arcadia.
The true value of Arcadism – to mint a term defining its aims and ideals – is not its importance for the local population, but its emphasis on its ecumenical character. For this reason, our Society was born with the ambitious aim to create a flow between this land and its effect in the world, aiming at carrying the intangible Arcadia closer to the real one.
We have already placed the foundation stone creating of the Arcadia International Network, a dynamic network of 110 members from 13 countries, which will bring together people and institutions from all over the world, who possess
awareness and sensitivity concerning the image and idea of Arcadia. It will bring them into contact with this land – the metropolitan Arcadia – as well as among themselves, so that through collaboration be able to share ideas, experiences, technical knowledge and funds in order to gradually materialize our vision.
At the same time, we begin to create in the heart of Arcadia a means for the cultivation of the cultural consciousness of the space: the Arcadia International Centre, as well as international education, cultural, artistic and ecological projects
Today, too many places peruse in their past in search of historical arguments as a safeguard for their identity, and also to impart validity on their initiatives. Just imagine what other parts of the world would offer in order their culture to reflect a
name as significant as Arcadia and to contribute to world culture the ideas and values that name of Arcadia has done!
If Western civilization has received the offerings of democracy, philosophy and tragedy by identifying them with the name of Athens, equally essential elements of the Greek legacy as the idea of bliss and the concepts of natural justice and harmony
between man and nature, have affected the world culture inseparably linked with the name and the poetic image of Arcadia.
As we have seen, from antiquity to the present day, the trace of Arcadia was not never absent from the image of the West. Hence we can rightfully claim that the Arcadian legacy has not acted only as a roadway of Hellenism, but an important component of our culture. A major path, from which substantial contributions of the Hellenic spirit spread in the world inspiring courageous, creative and generous deeds and kept alive certain values and attitudes, which are still useful for addressing, policy and educational, ecological and social challenges of the current culture.
This is our wealth, and of this wealth we are invited to act as safeguards. For this reason, in Arcadia, in Greece, in France, in Cyprus, in Germany, in Italy, in Spain, in USA, in UK, and in every corner of the world, whoever has something to offer in this effort will have his or her place in our Society.