Aegean Sea

Lore & Background

The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially regarding the civilization of Ancient Greece, which inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands. The Aegean islands facilitated contact between the people of the area and between Europe and Asia. Along with the Greeks, Thracians lived along the northern coasts. The Romans conquered the area under the Roman Empire, and later the Byzantine Empire held it against advances by the First Bulgarian Empire. The Fourth Crusade weakened Byzantine control of the area, and it was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire, with the exception of Crete, which was a Venetian colony until 1669. The Greek War of Independence allowed a Greek state on the coast of the Aegean from 1829 onwards. The Ottoman Empire held a presence over the sea for over 500 years until it was replaced by modern Turkey. The origin of the name Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος has been explained by various theories. One figure-based origin involves Aegeus, the father of Theseus, who is said to have drowned himself in the sea. Other theories name Aegaea, an Amazon queen; Aegaeon, a sea deity; Poseidon, known by the epithet 'Aigaios'; or the ruler Aigaion. Place-based origins include an island called 'Goat island' (Aἰγῶν) sacred to Poseidon, or a rock shaped like a goat called Aex. Linguistic theories derive the name from αἰγίς meaning a violent squall, or from αἶγες ('goats') because the many islands looked like a herd of goats. The sea was known in Latin as Mare Aegaeum. In medieval Latin, it was known as Egeopelagus, which gave rise to the term Archipelago. In some South Slavic languages, it is called White Sea. The Turkish name is Ege Denizi, derived from the Greek name, and Adalar Denizi meaning 'Sea of Islands'.

Reader's Guide

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea, covering about 214,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), measuring about 670 kilometres (420 mi) longitudinally and 390 kilometres (240 mi) latitudinal. Its maximum depth is 2,639 metres (8,658 ft), west of Karpathos. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes delimiting the sea on the south. The Anatolian peninsula marks the eastern boundary, while the Greek mainland marks the west. Several seas are contained within: the Thracian Sea to the north, the Icarian Sea to the east, the Myrtoan Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete to the south. The Greek regions that border the sea are Attica, Central Greece, Central Macedonia, Crete, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, North Aegean, Peloponnese, South Aegean, and Thessaly. The Aegean Islands can be divided into seven groups: Northeastern Aegean Islands, East Aegean Islands (Euboea), Northern Sporades, Cyclades, Saronic Islands, Dodecanese (or Southern Sporades), and Crete. Many of the islands are geographical extensions of mountains on the mainland. The sea is connected to the Sea of Marmara by the Dardanelles, and ultimately to the Black Sea through the Bosporus. Notable cities on the coastline include Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Volos, Alexandroupolis and Kavala in Greece, and İzmir and Bodrum in Turkey. Several issues concerning sovereignty within the Aegean Sea are disputed between Greece and Turkey, including the delimitation of territorial waters, national airspace, exclusive economic zones, and flight information regions.

Did You Know?

• The Aegean Sea reaches a maximum depth of 2,639 m (8,658 ft) to the west of Karpathos.
• The name 'Aegean' may derive from the story of Aegeus, father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea.
• In some South Slavic languages, the Aegean is called 'White Sea' (Bulgarian: Бяло море).
• The Turkish name for the sea is Ege Denizi, also historically called Adalar Denizi meaning 'Sea of Islands'.
• The term 'Archipelago' originally referred specifically to the Aegean Sea.