Wikipedia

Ionian Sea

TheIonian Sea(Modern Greek:Ιόνιο Πέλαγος,romanized:Iónio Pélagos,IPA:[iˈoni.oˈpelaɣos];[a]Italian:Mar IonioorMar Jonio,IPA:[marˈjɔːnjo];[b]Albanian:Deti Jon,IPA:[ˈdɛtiˈjɔn]) is an elongatedbayof theMediterranean Sea.It is connected to theAdriatic Seato the north, and is bounded bySouthern Italy,includingBasilicata,Calabria,Sicily,and theSalentopeninsula to the west, southernAlbania(and westernApulia,Italy) to the north, and the west coast ofGreece,including thePeloponnese.

Ionian Sea
Boundaries of Ionian Sea: red lines define border perInternational Hydrographic Organization
LocationSouthern Europe
Coordinates38°N19°E/ 38°N 19°E/38; 19
TypeSea
Primary outflowsMediterranean Sea
BasincountriesAlbania,Greece,andItaly
IslandsList of islands in the Ionian Sea
SettlementsIgoumenitsa,Parga,Preveza,Astakos,Patras,Kerkyra,Lefkada,Argostoli,Zakynthos,Kyparissia,Pylos,Kalamata,Himarë,Sarandë,Syracuse,Catania,Taormina,Messina,Catanzaro,Crotone,Taranto
The Ionian Sea, view from the islandKefalonia,Greece
The Ionian Sea, as seen fromCorfuIsland,Greece,and withSaranda,Albania in the background

All major islands in the sea, which are located in the east of the sea, belong toGreece.They are collectively named theIonian Islands,the main ones beingCorfu,Kefalonia,Zakynthos,Lefkada,andIthaca.

There areferryroutes betweenPatrasandIgoumenitsa,Greece, andBrindisiandAncona,Italy, that cross the east and north of the Ionian Sea, and fromPiraeuswestward.Calypso Deep,the deepest point in the Mediterranean at 5,109 m (16,762 ft), is in the Ionian Sea, at36°34′N21°8′E/ 36.567°N 21.133°E/36.567; 21.133.[1][2]The sea is one of the mostseismically activeareas in the world.

Etymology

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The nameIoniancomes from the Greek wordIonion (Ἰόνιον).Its etymology is unknown.[3]Ancient Greek writers, especiallyAeschylus,linked it to the myth ofIo.Inancient Greekthe adjectiveIonios(Ἰόνιος) was used as anepithetfor the sea because Io swam across it.[4][5][6]According to theOxford Classical Dictionary,the name may derive fromIonianswho sailed to the West,[7]however the word for Ionians is spelled with an omega ( Ἴωνες) rather than an omicron as in the word for the Ionian Sea. There were also narratives about othereponymiclegendary figures;[8]according to one version,Ioniuswas a son ofAdrias(eponymic for theAdriatic Sea); according to another,Ioniuswas a son ofDyrrhachus.[9]When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers,Heracles,who was passing through the area, came to his aid, but in the fight the hero killed his ally's son by mistake. The body was cast into the water, and thereafter was called the Ionian Sea.[9] Cham Albaniansused to call the Ionian sea "The Lady's Domain".[10]

Geography

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Extent

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TheInternational Hydrographic Organizationdefines the limits of the Ionian Sea as follows:[11]

On the North.A line running from the mouth of theButrinto River(39°44'N) inAlbania,to Cape Karagol inCorfu(39°45'N), along the North Coast of Corfu to Cape Kephali (39°45'N) and from thence toCape Santa Maria di Leucain Italy.
On the East.From the mouth of the Butrinto River in Albania down the coast of the mainland toCape Matapan.
On the South.A line from Cape Matapan toCape Passero,the Southern point ofSicily.
On the West.The East coast of Sicily and the Southeast coast of Italy to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca.

Places

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Gjipein the south ofAlbaniawhere the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea, view from the islandLefkada,Greece
Cape Drastis and the Ionian Sea,CorfuIsland

From south to north in the west, then north to south in the east:

Gulfs and straits

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Islands

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Islets

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History

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The Sea was the location of the famousnaval battlebetweenOctavianandMarc Antonyknown asThe Battle of Actium,a war fought in 31 BC,[12]and is also famous for the hero from Ancient Greek mythology named Odysseus, who was from the island ofIthaca.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^Ancient Greek:Ἰόνιον πέλαγος(Iónion pélagos),Ἰόνιος θάλασσα(Iónios thálassa) orἸόνιος πόντος(Iónios póntos).
  2. ^Sicilian:Mari Joniu[ˈmaːɾɪˈjɔːnjʊ];Salentino:Mare Joniu;Tarantino:Mare Jonie.

References

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  1. ^Gade, Martin (March 15, 2008)."The European Marginal and Enclosed Seas: An Overview".In Barale, Vittorio (ed.).Remote Sensing of the European Seas.Springer Science+Business Media.pp. 3–22.ISBN978-1-4020-6771-6.LCCN2007942178.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
  2. ^"NCMR - MAP".National Observatory of Athens.Archived fromthe originalon August 28, 2009.RetrievedApril 5,2018.
  3. ^Babiniotis,Lexiko tis Neoellinikis Glossas.
  4. ^Jakub Pigoń (18 December 2008).The Children of Herodotus: Greek and Roman Historiography and Related Genres.Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 114.ISBN978-1-4438-0251-2.
  5. ^Liddel & Scott,A Greek-English LexiconἸόνιος.
  6. ^John Freely (30 April 2008).The Ionian Islands: Corfu, Cephalonia and Beyond.I.B.Tauris. p. 10.ISBN978-0-85771-828-0.
  7. ^John Keahey (15 July 2014).A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea.St. Martin's Press. p. 116.ISBN978-1-4668-7603-3.
  8. ^Charles Anthon (1869).A Classical Dictionary Containing an Account of the Principal Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors [and Intended to Elucidate All the Important Points Connected with the Geography, History, Biography, Mythology, and Fine Arts of the Greeks and Romans: Together with an Account of Coins, Weights, and Measures, with Tabular Values of the Same].Harper [& Brothers]. p.679.
  9. ^abGocha R. Tsetskhladze (2008).Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas.BRILL. p. 157.ISBN978-90-04-15576-3.
  10. ^Fatos Mero Rrapaj (1995).Fjalori Onomastik i Epirit.Eurorilindja. fq. 145, 312, 399. "Fushën e Zonjës, siç e quan populli çam"
  11. ^Limits of Oceans and Seas(PDF)(3rd ed.).Organisation hydrographique internationale.1953. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 8, 2011.Retrieved28 December2020.
  12. ^"Battle of Actium | ancient Roman history | Britannica".2 June 2023.
  13. ^"Odysseus | Myth, Significance, Trojan War, & Odyssey | Britannica".29 April 2023.
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