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What if escaping a prophecy means entering a world where love makes every disguise more dangerous?
In Philip Sidney's The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, Duke Basilius retreats among shepherds and green hills after an alarming oracle. He hopes to escape its threat, but his sheltered daughters, Pamela and Philoclea, draw the love of two visiting princes. Pyrocles and Musidorus take on disguises to get close to them, bringing desire and deception into the duke's country refuge.
Around them, a household full of foolish pride and dangerous feelings turns love into both comedy and risk. Basilius's clever wife, Gynecia, sees more than her husband, while the boastful herdsman Dametas proves easy to fool. Beyond the lodges lie shipwreck, battles, tournaments and schemes for power. Through these adventures, Sidney asks whether love strengthens virtue or ruins judgment.
What you’ll discover
- Princes behind disguises Follow Pyrocles and Musidorus as love draws them into borrowed names and unfamiliar roles.
- Two sheltered princesses Meet steady, thoughtful Pamela and gentle Philoclea as love enters their guarded lives.
- Comedy among the shepherds Enjoy the foolish pride of Dametas amid a household tangled in desire and deception.
- Adventure beyond the hills Venture into a wider world of shipwreck, knights, kidnappers and struggles for power.
- Love against good judgment Consider what happens when private desire presses against virtue and a ruler's duty.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy disguises, secret loves, daring rescues, and songs among shepherds will love this romance. It suits those drawn to Renaissance storytelling and the friendship of princes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Grief brings Musidorus into Arcadia
- Basilius hides from his own future
- Argalus loves beyond a beautiful face
- Pyrocles becomes the Amazon Zelmane
- A shepherd reveals a prince's worth
- Private desire meets public danger
- Love changes the people it reaches
- Loyalty must be proved through conduct
- Interwoven adventures carry shared moral questions
Who’s who
- MusidorusPrince of Thessaly who goes by Palladius, then Dorus the shepherd, and wants to find his friend and win Pamela.
- PyroclesPrince of Macedon who becomes the Amazon Zelmane to stay near Philoclea, the woman he loves.
- PhilocleaGentle younger daughter of Basilius, who learns about love by copying the person she admires.
- PamelaProud and thoughtful elder princess, who hides her feelings and trusts her own judgment.
- BasiliusKind prince of Arcadia who withdraws to the forest because of an oracle and then falls foolishly in love.
- GyneciaClever queen, wife of Basilius, torn between duty and a passion she cannot control.
- CecropiaScheming aunt of the princesses who wants power for her son Amphialus and will use any means.
- DametasBoastful and cowardly clown placed as Pamela's guard, who wants rank and comfort above all.
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The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
by Philip Sidney · 1590
Two Greek princes, one dressed as an Amazon and one as a shepherd, pursue the daughters of a king hiding in the woods.
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“Sidney, as he fought And as he fell and as he lived and loved Sublimely mild, a Spirit without spot, Arose;”
In short
A man washes up on a beach, hands locked around a small chest. The first thing he does on waking is try to throw himself back into the sea.
The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia at a glance
- Reading time
- About 22 h 40 min17 h 55 min fast, 26 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 323,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1590by Philip Sidney
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A shipwreck leads two friends into Arcadia
The story opens on the sands facing the island of Cithera. Two shepherds, Strephon and Claius, have come to mourn a lady named Urania, who sailed away from this shore. Sidney begins with their lament because longing drives nearly everyone in the book.
Then a young man floats in on the tide, gripping a small chest. The shepherds pump the water out of him until he breathes. At once he calls for Pyrocles and tries to drown himself again. He is Musidorus. A ship burned, he says, and he and his friend swam for their lives. Pirates hauled Pyrocles into their galley, and Musidorus could only watch.
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Details
- First published
- 1590
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Sidney, Philip. The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-countess-of-pembrokes-arcadia.
Sidney, P. (2026). The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-countess-of-pembrokes-arcadia (Original work published 1590)
Sidney, Philip. The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-countess-of-pembrokes-arcadia.
@book{sidney2026countess,
author = {Sidney, Philip},
title = {The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-countess-of-pembrokes-arcadia},
note = {First published 1590}
}
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What is The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia about?
It follows two Greek princes, Musidorus and Pyrocles, who disguise themselves as a shepherd and an Amazon in Arcadia to win the daughters of the prince Basilius. Along the way come battles, rescues, songs, and a siege.
Who is Zelmane in the Arcadia?
Zelmane is the false name and woman's disguise taken by Prince Pyrocles. He wears it to live in the forest lodge near Philoclea, but it also makes Basilius and Gynecia fall in love with him.
Who wrote the Arcadia and why?
Philip Sidney wrote it for his sister Mary, the Countess of Pembroke. He says he composed it in loose sheets, mostly in her presence, as a light entertainment that she could keep or laugh at.
The author
Philip Sidney
1554–1586 · English Renaissance poet
Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and diplomat, born in Kent in 1554. He lived in England and travelled in Europe. He wrote The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, Astrophil and Stella, and A Defence of Poesy during the late 1570s and 1580s. He died in Arnhem in 1586.
“Loved I am, and yet complain of love:”
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