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The Aegean Sea (Greek
Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion
Pelagos, Turkish Ege denizi) is an
arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula
and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). It is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and
Bosporus.
In ancient times the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations - the Minoans of Crete, and Mycenean Civilization of the Peloponnese. Later arose the
city-states of Athens, Sparta among many others that constituted the Hellenic Civilization. The Aegean Sea was later inhabited by Persians, Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Venetians, the Seljuk Turks, and the Ottoman
Empire. The Aegean was the site of the original democracies, and it allowed
for contact between several diverse civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Aegean islands can be simply divided into seven groups: the
Thracian Sea group, the East
Aegean group, the Northern Sporades, the Cyclades, the Saronic Islands (or, Argo-Saronic Islands), the Dodecanese and Crete. The word archipelago was originally
applied specifically to these 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, another extends across
Euboea to Samos, and a third extends across the
Peloponnese and Crete to Rhodes, dividing the Aegean from the Mediterranean. Many of the islands have safe harbours and
bays, but navigation through the sea is generally difficult. Many of the islands are volcanic, and marble and iron are
mined on other islands. The larger islands have some fertile valleys and plains.
In ancient times there were various explanations for the name "Aegean." It was said to have been named after the town of
Aegae; Aegea, a queen of the Amazons who died in the sea; and Aegeus, the father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea when
he thought his son had died.
See also
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