Plural of Arcadian; people from ancient Arcadia, or characters in literature who embody Arcadian pastoral ideals.
From Arcadia + -ian + -s (plural). The term expanded to mean not just inhabitants of the real region but also literary characters representing pastoral ideals.
Arcadians became more famous through Renaissance poetry and painting than they ever were as actual historical people—literary imaginations were so powerful that a fictional version of shepherds became more real to Europeans than the actual ancient Greeks.
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