The Aegean Sea (Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Egeo Pelagos /eˈʝeo ˈpelaɣos/ ( listen); Turkish: Ege Denizi) is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate located between the southern Balkan The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km2 (212,000 sq mi) and a population of 55 million people.[citation needed] and Anatolian Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west. Anatolia peninsulas A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus.[citation needed] In many Germanic languages, peninsulas are called "half-islands". A peninsula can also be a headland (head), cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit. Note that a point is generally considered a tapering piece of, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece Greece (English: /ˈɡriːs/ ; Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda, IPA: /eˈlaða/ ( listen); Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: /helːás/), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: /eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia/), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on and Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis (Greek: Προποντίς), is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles and Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters by the Dardanelles The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont (Greek: Ελλήσποντος, Hellespontos literally "Sea of Helle"), is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately 40°13′N 26°26� and Bosporus The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı), is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is. The Aegean Islands The Aegean Islands are a group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south. The ancient name of the Aegean Sea, Archipelago, was later applied to the islands it contains and is now used more generally, to refer to any island group. The Greek are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi). Crete is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece and covers the same area as the Greek region of Crete from before the 1987 administrative reform. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage and Rhodes Rhodes is a Greek island approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest of Turkey in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the homonymous capital city of the island. The Aegean Region Aegean Region , is one of the 7 census-defined regions of Turkey. It is located in the west part of the country, bounded by Aegean sea (Ege Denizi) on the west, Marmara region on the north, Mediterranean region on the south & southwest and Central Anatolia region on the east consists of nine provinces in southwestern Turkey, in part bordering on the Aegean sea.

The sea was traditionally known as Archipelago Archipelagos can be found isolated in bodies of water; or with a large land mass may neighbour them. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, (in Greek Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning the Archaic , Classical (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic (c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD) periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. Its Hellenistic phase is known as Koine (&, Αρχιπέλαγος), the general sense of which has since changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally, to any island group because the Aegean Sea is remarkable for its large number of islands.

Geography

The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi) in area, and measures about 610 kilometres (380 mi) longitudinally and 300 kilometres (190 mi) latitudinally. The sea's maximum depth is 3,543 metres (11,624 ft), east of Crete. The Aegean Islands The Aegean Islands are a group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south. The ancient name of the Aegean Sea, Archipelago, was later applied to the islands it contains and is now used more generally, to refer to any island group. The Greek are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south (generally from west to east): Kythera Kythira is an island of Greece, historically part of the Ionian Islands. It lies opposite the eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is administratively part of the Piraeus Prefecture (centered in the Athens metropolitan area) although geographically distant from the prefecture's population center. It has a land area of 279.593 km² (107.951, Antikythera Antikythera is a Greek island community with a land area of 20.43 square kilometers, lying 38 kilometers south-east of Kythira. It is the most distant part of the Piraeus Prefecture from its heart in the Athens metropolitan area. It is lozenge-shaped, 10.5 km NNW to SSE by 3.4 km ENE to WSW. It is notable for being the location of the discovery of, Crete, Kasos Kasos is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea. As of 2001, its population was 990. The island has been called in Italian: Caso, Turkish: Kaşot, Karpathos Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The island includes the municipality of Karpathos plus the community of Olympos. Part of Olympos also extends north to the neighboring Saria Island. From its remote position Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the and Rhodes.

The Aegean Islands, which almost all belong to Greece, can be simply divided into seven groups:

1. Northeastern Aegean Islands,
2. Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about 150 kilometres (93 mi) long, and varies in breadth from 50 kilometres (31 mi) to 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). Its general,
3. Northern Sporades The Sporades (Greek: Βόρειες Σποράδες) are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea, in the Aegean Sea. It consists of 24 islands, of which five are inhabited: Alonissos, Skiathos, Skopelos, Peristera and Skyros,
4. Cyclades The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and an administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around (κυκλάς) the sacred island of Delos. The Cyclades is where the native Greek breed of cat (,
5. Saronic Islands (or Argo-Saronic Islands),
6. Dodecanese The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey, southward of the island of Samos and northeastward of the island of Crete. They have a rich history, and many of even the smallest inhabited islands boast dozens of Byzantine churches and medieval castles (or Southern Sporades),
7. Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi). Crete is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece and covers the same area as the Greek region of Crete from before the 1987 administrative reform. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage.

The word archipelago Archipelagos can be found isolated in bodies of water; or with a large land mass may neighbour them. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, was originally applied specifically to the Aegean Sea and its islands. Many of the Aegean Islands, or chains of islands, are actually extensions of the mountains on the mainland. One chain extends across the sea to Chios Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres (five miles) off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages. The eleventh century monastery of “Nea Moni�, another extends across Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about 150 kilometres (93 mi) long, and varies in breadth from 50 kilometres (31 mi) to 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). Its general to Samos Samos is a Greek island in the North Aegean sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi)-wide Mycale Strait, and a third extends across the Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula (technically an island since the 1893 construction of the Corinth Canal) and region in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (Greek: Μωρέας, colloq. � and Crete to Rhodes, dividing the Aegean from the Mediterranean.

The bays and gulfs of the Aegean beginning and the South and moving clockwise include on Crete, the Mirabelli, Almyros, Souda Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrotiri peninsula and Cape Drapano, and runs west to east. The bay is overlooked on both sides by hills, with a relatively low and narrow isthmus and Chania bays or gulfs, on the mainland the Myrtoan Sea The Myrtoan Sea (Greek: Mυρτώο Πέλαγος, Myrtöo Pelagos) is a subdivision of the Mediterranean Sea that lies between the Cyclades and the Peloponnesos. It is described as the part of the Aegean Sea south of Euboea, Attica, and Argolis to the west, the Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus. Islands that are lined in the middle of the Gulf are Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with smaller islands of Patroklou and Vleves. The northwestward, the Petalies Gulf which connects with the South Euboic Sea, the Pagasetic Gulf which connects with the North Euboic Sea, the Thermian Gulf northwestward, the Chalkidiki Halkidiki, also Chalkidiki or Khalkidiki , is one of the prefectures of Greece. It is located in the southeastern portion of Central Macedonia. The Cholomontas mountains lie in the northcentral part. It consists of a large peninsula in the northwestern Aegean Sea, resembling a hand with three "fingers" (though in Greek these peninsulas Peninsula including the Cassandra and the Singitic Gulfs, northward the Strymonian Gulf and the Gulf of Kavala and the rest are in Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the; Saros Gulf, Edremit Edremit is a district in Balıkesir Province, Turkey, as well as the central city of that district, on the west coast of Turkey, not far from the Greek island Lesbos. It is situated at the tip of the gulf with the same name , with its town center a few kilometers inland, and is an important center of trade, along with the other towns that are Gulf, Dikili Gulf, Çandarlı Gulf, İzmir İzmir, historically also Smyrna, is a city in western Turkey and the seat of İzmir Province.It is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's second largest port city. It is located along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea Gulf, Kuşadası Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. Her Gulf, Gulf of Gökova, Güllük Gulf.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization was originally established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). The present name was adopted in 1970 as a result of a revised international agreement among member nations. However, the former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained for the IHO's administrative body of three defines the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows:^[1]

On the South. A line running from Cape Aspro (28°16'E) in Asia Minor Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west. Anatolia, to Cum Burnù (Capo della Sabbia) the Northeast extreme of the Island of Rhodes Rhodes is a Greek island approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest of Turkey in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the homonymous capital city of the island, through the island to Cape Prasonisi, the Southwest point thereof, on to Vrontos Point (35°33'N) in Skarpanto [Karpathos Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The island includes the municipality of Karpathos plus the community of Olympos. Part of Olympos also extends north to the neighboring Saria Island. From its remote position Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the, through this island to Castello Point, the South extreme thereof, across to Cape Plaka (East extremity of Crete), through Crete to Agria Grabusa, the Northwest extreme thereof, thence to Cape Apolitares in Antikithera Antikythera is a Greek island community with a land area of 20.43 square kilometers, lying 38 kilometers south-east of Kythira. It is the most distant part of the Piraeus Prefecture from its heart in the Athens metropolitan area. It is lozenge-shaped, 10.5 km NNW to SSE by 3.4 km ENE to WSW. It is notable for being the location of the discovery of Island, through the island to Psira Rock (off the Northwest point) and across to Cape Trakhili in Kithera Kythira is an island of Greece, historically part of the Ionian Islands. It lies opposite the eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is administratively part of the Piraeus Prefecture (centered in the Athens metropolitan area) although geographically distant from the prefecture's population center. It has a land area of 279.593 km² (107.951 Island, through Kithera to the Northwest point (Cape Karavugia) and thence to Cape Santa Maria (36°28′N 22°57′E / 36.467°N 22.95°E) in the Morea The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.

In the Dardanelles The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont (Greek: Ελλήσποντος, Hellespontos literally "Sea of Helle"), is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately 40°13′N 26°26�. A line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles.

Hydrography

Aegean surface water circulates in a counter-clockwise gyre, with hypersaline Mediterranean water moving northward along the west coast of Turkey, before being displaced by less dense Black Sea outflow. The dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres (75–98 ft), then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s. The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, then flows southwards along the east coast of Greece.^[2]

The physical oceanography of the Aegean Sea is controlled mainly by the regional climate, the fresh water discharge from major rivers draining southeastern Europe, and the seasonal variations in the Black Sea surface water outflow through the Dardanelles Strait.

Analysis^[3] of the Aegean during 1991 and 1992 revealed 3 distinct water masses:

• Aegean Sea Surface Water – 40–50 metres (130–160 ft) thick veneer, with summer temperatures of 21–26 °C and winter temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in the north to 16 °C (61 °F) in the south.
• Aegean Sea Intermediate Water – Aegean Sea Intermediate Water extends from 40–50 m to 200–300 metres (660–980 ft) with temperatures ranging from 11–18 °C.
• Aegean Sea Bottom Water – occurring at depths below 500–1000 m with a very uniform temperature (13–14 °C) and salinity (39.1–39.2%).

Etymology

In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. It was said to have been named after the Greek town of Aegae, or after Aegea, a queen of the Amazons who died in the sea, or Aigaion, the "sea goat", another name of Briareus, one of the archaic Hecatonchires, or, especially among the Athenians, Aegeus, the father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea when he thought his son had died.

A possible etymology is a derivation from the Greek word αἶγες – aiges = "waves" (Hesychius of Alexandria; metaphorical use of αἴξ (aix) "goat"), hence "wavy sea", cf. also αἰγιαλός (aigialos) "coast".

History

The current coastline dates back to about 4000 BC. Before that time, at the peak of the last ice age (c. 16,000 BC) sea levels everywhere were 130 metres lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of the northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the present-day islands including Milos with its important obsidian production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared c. 7000 BC, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3000 years after that.^[4]

The subsequent Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean Sea have given rise to the general term Aegean civilization. In ancient times the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations – the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenean Civilization of the Peloponnese.^[5]

Later arose the city-states of Athens and Sparta among many others that constituted the Athenian Empire and Hellenic Civilization. Plato described the Greeks living round the Aegean "like frogs around a pond".^[6] The Aegean Sea was later invaded by the Persians and the Romans, and inhabited by the Byzantine Empire, the Venetians, the Seljuk Turks, and the Ottoman Empire. The Aegean was the site of the original democracies, and its seaways were the means of contact among several diverse civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Economics and politics

Many of the islands in the Aegean have safe harbours and bays. In ancient times, navigation through the sea was easier than traveling across the rough terrain of the Greek mainland (and to some extent the coastal areas of Anatolia). Many of the islands are volcanic, and marble and iron are mined on other islands. The larger islands have some fertile valleys and plains. Of the main islands in the Aegean Sea, two belong to Turkey – Bozcaada (Tenedos) and Gökçeada (Imbros); the rest belong to Greece. Between the two countries, there are political disputes over several aspects of political control over the Aegean space, including the size of territorial waters, air control and the delimitation of economic rights to the continental shelf.

See also

• Aegean civilization
• Aegean dispute
• Aegean Islands
• Aegean languages
• List of traditional Greek place names

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