The meaning of Arcadia in Virgil’s Eclogues, often misunderstood, can largely be determined from Ecl. 10. Here Arcadia symbolizes Virgil’s bucolic poetry, original in comparison with that of Theocritus: for this purpose the poet imagines ancient and noble origins of his poetry in the land of Pan. Even the myth of the descent of the Romans from the Arcadians is perhaps useful for Virgil in asserting the originality of his poetry.
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