Extract

Aegean Sea, between Greece and Asia Minor. To it the modern name Archipelago was originally applied, but the ancient Greeks derived the name Aegean variously from *Theseus' father *Aegeus, who drowned himself in it; from Aegea, Amazonian queen (see amazons), who was drowned in it; from *Aegae city. They subdivided it into Thracian, along Thrace and Macedonia to the north coast of *Euboea; Myrtoan, south of Euboea, Attica, Argolis, west of the *Cyclades; Icarian, along (Asiatic) coasts of *Caria and Ionia; Cretic, north of *Crete. Some, like *Strabo, treated the last three as separate, ending the Aegean at *Sunium in Attica. The whole Aegean contains many islands in three groups: along the Asiatic coast, including *Lesbos, *Chios, *Samos, *Rhodes; a small group off *Thessaly; Euboea and the Cyclades, a continuation or reappearance of the mountains of the Greek mainland.