Santorini is located on the Aegean Sea.
The Aegean Sea is a body of water located between the south-eastern Balkans, the Anatolian Peninsula and Crete. It is connected to the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea via the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits, and to the Ionian Sea via the Corinth Canal.
The Aegean Sea covers an area of approximately 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 square miles) and has a maximum depth of 3,543 metres (11,624 feet). It is one of the saltiest seas in the world, with a salinity of 38 to 39‰.
The Aegean Sea lies within the Mediterranean climate zone. The surface water temperature of the Aegean Sea is 22 to 25 °C (71.6°F to 77°F) in the summer months and 12 to 15.5 °C (53,6°F to 59.9°F) in the winter months.
There are over 1,400 islands of many sizes in the Aegean Sea. The vast majority of these islands are uninhabited. They can be divided into seven groups:
- Northeast Aegean Islands
- East Aegean Islands
- Northern Sporades
- Cyclades
- Saronic Islands
- Dodecanese
- Crete
The Aegean Sea lies on the territory of two countries – Greece (the vast majority of the area) and Turkey.
The Aegean Sea is most likely named after Ageus – the mythical king of Athens, father of Theseus. Ageus, before the sea expedition, gave his son two sails – black (signifying defeat) and red (signifying victory). Theseus, after winning the battle, forgot to change the colour of the sail, and his father, seeing the black sail, threw himself into the depths of the sea, since then called the Aegean Sea.
