An arm of the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea lies between the countries of Greece and Turkey. The region was the site of two great ancient civilizations, those of Crete and Greece (see Greece, ancient). Much of modern Western culture is derived from these two civilizations.

Physical features

The Aegean Sea is about 380 miles (610 kilometers) long and 185 miles (300 kilometers) wide. In the northeast it connects to the Black Sea through a series of narrow straits. The island of Crete partly shuts off the Aegean from the Mediterranean Sea, and there are hundreds of other islands stretching in lines from Greece to the shores of Asia. The islands are actually the mountain peaks of an underwater landmass called Aegeis. Some of the larger islands—such as Lesbos, Chios, Rhodes, and Crete—have fertile, well-cultivated plains, but many others are rocky and quite barren.

The Aegean contains few nutrients and supports very little plant life. Its warm waters, however, encourage fish to enter it from the Black Sea to breed. The maximum depth of the Aegean is 11,627 feet (3,543 meters), near the island of Crete. The entire Aegean has abundant bays, ports, and creeks on both the shores surrounding the sea and those of the islands.

Economy

The chief products of the islands are wheat, wine, oil, figs, raisins, honey, vegetables, marble, and minerals. Fishing and tourism are also important. Visitors come to see the villages of whitewashed houses as well as the ruins of ancient civilizations.

History

According to archaeological discoveries, seafarers began to explore the Aegean about 15,000 years ago. By about 3000 BC ships were sailing all over the Aegean. The island of Delos, which is near the center of the Aegean, was an important link for sea transport between the East and the West.

The Minoan civilization, which centered on Crete and flourished from about 3000 BC to 1100 BC, was the first to gain control over the entire area. Starting about 1500 BC Mycenean and, later, Greek civilization spread through the Aegean from cities on the Greek mainland. By the 1st century BC the Roman Empire ruled over the area of the Aegean and Mediterranean. The region later came under the control of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and finally the independent country of Greece.

Myths and legends

The Aegean and its islands are associated with numerous myths and legends. Two islands that have great mythological significance are Delos, the sacred island of the god Apollo, and Rhodes, the island of the god Helios. The legend of Atlantis has also been linked to the Aegean. The story—of a powerful island-city that sank into the ocean during ancient times—has been traced back to ancient Egyptian records of a massive volcanic eruption on the Aegean island of Thera. This explosion was followed by earthquakes and tidal waves. They completely destroyed the civilization of Crete and may have established the myth of the lost island.