The Saronic Gulf (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and ...
in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
is formed between the peninsulas of
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...
and
Argolis
Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the ...
and forms part of the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. It defines the eastern side of the
isthmus of Corinth, being the eastern terminus of the
Corinth Canal
The Corinth Canal ( el, Διώρυγα της Κορίνθου, translit=Dhioryga tis Korinthou) is an artificial canal in Greece, that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the ...
, which cuts across the isthmus. The
Saronic Islands
The Saronic Islands or Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, and Poros. The ...
in the gulf have played a pivotal role in the
history of Greece, with the largest,
Salamis, naming
a significant naval battle in the
Greco-Persian wars
The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of t ...
. The
Megara Gulf
The Megara Gulf ({{Lang-el, Κόλπος Μέγαρων, Kolpos ...
makes up the northern end of the Saronic Gulf.
The capital of Greece,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, lies on the north coast of the Saronic Gulf.
Etymology
The origin of the gulf's name comes from the
mythological king Saron who drowned at the Psifaei lake (modern
Psifta). The Saronic Gulf was a string of six entrances to the
Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...
, each guarded by a
chthonic enemy in the shape of a thief or bandit.
History
The
Battle of Salamis, just to the west of modern-day Piraeus, took place in the Saronic Gulf. This naval battle off
Salamis Island saw the Athenians defeat
Xerxes, assuring
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
its place as the cradle of modern European culture.
The ancient port of
Cenchreae
Kechries ( el, Κεχριές, rarely Κεχρεές) is a village in the municipality of Corinth in Corinthia in Greece, part of the community of Xylokeriza. Population 238 (2011). It takes its name from the ancient port town Kenchreai or Cenchr ...
used to be situated here.
Geography
The gulf includes the
islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
of
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and ...
,
Salamis, and
Poros
Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the ...
along with smaller islands of
Patroklos and
Fleves. The port of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
, Athens' port, lies on the northeastern edge of the gulf. The site of the former
Ellinikon International Airport
Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...
is also in the northeast.
Beaches line much of the gulf coast from
Poros
Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the ...
to
Epidaurus,
Galataki to
Kineta
Kineta ( el, Κινέτα) is a beach town in West Attica, Greece. It is part of the municipality Megara.
Geography
Kineta is situated on the northern coast of the Saronic Gulf, south of the Geraneia mountains. The rocks of Kakia Skala lie to ...
and from
Megara to
Eleusis and from Piraeus down to
Anavyssos
Anavyssos ( el, Ανάβυσσος) is a town and a former municipality in East Attica, Greece located in the Athens Riviera. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Saronikos, of which it is a municipal unit. The m ...
. Athens' urban area surrounds the northern and the eastern coasts of this gulf.
Bays in the gulf include
Phaleron Bay
Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').''
The ...
, Elefsina Bay to the north,
Kechries Bay
Kechries ( el, Κεχριές, rarely Κεχρεές) is a village in the municipality of Corinth in Corinthia in Greece, part of the community of Xylokeriza. Population 238 (2011). It takes its name from the ancient port town Kenchreai or Cenchr ...
in the northwest and Sofiko Bay in the east.
The volcano of
Methana
Methana ( el, Μέθανα) is a town and a former municipality on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia-Methana, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...
is located to the southwest along with Kromyonia at the Isthmus of Corinth, Aegina and Poros. Methana is also the youngest most active volcano center and forms the northwestern end of the cycladic arch of active volcanoes that includes Milos island, Santorini island and Nisyros island. A hydropathic institute at Methana makes use of the hot sulphurous water that still surfaces in the area. The most recent eruption was of a submarine volcano north of Methana in the 17th century.
The gulf has refineries around the northern part of the gulf including east of Corinth and west of Agioi Theodoroi, Eleusis, Aspropyrgos, Skaramangas and Keratsini. These refineries produce most of Greece's refined petroleum products, a large proportion of which are then exported. Commercial shipping to the refineries, Piraeus, and to and from the canal make the gulf quite a busy area with commercial shipping.
Fault lines dominate especially in the northwestern part.
Tributaries
*Kechries Bay
*Saronic Bay Coast (basin)
**Lower
Galataki Basin
**Upper
Galataki Basin
**
Examilia Basin
**
Athikia Athikia ( el, Αθίκια) is a village in the regional unit of Corinthia in Greece. It was the seat of the former municipality of Saronikos. Athikia has a population of 2,038 (2011 census) and is located south of the city of Corinth
Corint ...
Basin
*
Loutro Basin
*Megara Bay/
Megara Gulf
The Megara Gulf ({{Lang-el, Κόλπος Μέγαρων, Kolpos ...
*
Cephissus River (Eleusis)
*
Cephissus (Athenian plain)
Cephissus ( grc, Κήφισσος; el, Κηφισός, ''Kifisos'') is a river in the vicinity of Athens, Greece. Together with the neighbouring river Ilisos, it drains a catchment area of .
The '' Bibliotheca'' (3.15.1) states that the lege ...
between
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
and Phaliron.
Capes
*
Cape Lomvardi - SW of
Vouliagmeni
Vouliagmeni ( el, Βουλιαγμένη, meaning "sunken") is a seaside suburb and former municipality 20 km south of Athens city centre. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which ...
Sailing
Sailing is popular in the Saronic Gulf which, like the neighbouring Argolic Gulf, benefits from the
Attic mainland's partial shelter from the summer
Meltemi wind that can reach
Force 7 and above further to the east in the Aegean islands.
The Gulf boasts two particularly notable archaeological sites: the
ancient theatre at Epidaurus and nearby
asclepieion and the
Temple of Aphaia
The Temple of Aphaia ( el, Ναός Αφαίας) or Afea is located within a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Aphaia on the Greek island of Aigina, which lies in the Saronic Gulf. Formerly known as the Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, ...
on Aegina.
Other
The Saronic Gulf is one of congregating areas for
short-beaked common dolphin
The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...
s in Aegean Sea. On recent occasions, more of large
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s such as
fin whale
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ce ...
s have been sighted in the gulf due to improving environmental conditions.
A rare Fin Whale visit in the Saronic Gulf
/ref>
See also
*Megara Gulf
The Megara Gulf ({{Lang-el, Κόλπος Μέγαρων, Kolpos ...
References
{{Authority control
Gulfs of Greece
Gulfs of the Aegean Sea
Landforms of Corinthia
Landforms of Peloponnese (region)
Landforms of Islands (regional unit)
Landforms of Attica
Landforms of Argolis
Landforms of West Attica
Landforms of East Attica
Landforms of South Athens (regional unit)