250px, Map of the Aegean Sea. Icarian Sea is shown at its right. The Icarian Sea ( el, Ικάριο Πέλαγος, ''Ikario Pelagos'') is a subdivision of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

that lies between the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...

and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. It is described as the 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 ...

to the south of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

, to the east of the Eastern

and west of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. It contains the islands of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

, Cos,

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the northern ...

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

Fournoi Korseon Fournoi Korseon ( el, Φούρνοι Κορσέων), more commonly simply Fournoi ( el, Φούρνοι), anciently known as Corsiae or Korsiai ( grc, Κορσίαι), Corseae or Korseai (Κορσεαί), Corsia or Korsia (Κορσία), and Co ...

and

Icaria Icaria, also spelled Ikaria ( el, Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was be ...

. It is the place, in myth, into which Icarus made his fatal fall from the sky when he flew too close to the sun during his flight from

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

with his father

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, a ...

. It is either directly from this legend that it gets its name, or from the island of

. According to legend, it was Helios the sun god who named the sea 'Icarian' after the fallen hero.

Classical references

* Horace makes a reference to ''Icarian waves'' in Liber I, Carmen I, line 15 ("Ad Maecenatem");; the first stanza of his Ode 4.2 also alludes to the Icarian Sea.Horace'
Ode 4.2

Pindarum quisquis studet aemulari,
Iulle, ceratis ope Daedalea
nititur pennis vitreo daturus
nomina ponto.
hoever_is_eager_to_rival_Pindar,_Iullus,_is_flying_with_wings_waxed_with_Daedalus'_aid,_about_to_give_his_name_to_a_glassy_sea..html" ;"title="Pindar.html" ;"title="hoever is eager to rival Pindar">hoever is eager to rival Pindar, Iullus, is flying with wings waxed with Daedalus' aid, about to give his name to a glassy sea.">Pindar.html" ;"title="hoever is eager to rival Pindar">hoever is eager to rival Pindar, Iullus, is flying with wings waxed with Daedalus' aid, about to give his name to a glassy sea./ref> *Strabo states that it connects with the Carpathian Sea on the south, and on the West with the Sea of Crete, Cretan Sea. *The second epic simile of the Iliad of Homer relates the Greek force to great waves on the Icarian sea. *Herodotus mentions Icarian Sea in The Histories VI:95 in reference to Persian troop movements.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 37, 30, N, 26, 20, E, scale:1200000_source:GNS, display=title Marginal seas of the Mediterranean Aegean Sea Seas of Greece Landforms of Samos Landforms of the North Aegean Landforms of Kos (regional unit) Landforms of the South Aegean Landforms of Kalymnos (regional unit) Landforms of Ikaria (regional unit)