The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

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 ...

. It is connected to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Calabria,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

(and western Apulia, Italy) to the north, and the west coast of

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 wi ...

, including the Peloponnese. All major islands in the sea, which are located in the east of the sea, belong to

. They are collectively named the Ionian Islands, the main ones being

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada, and

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. There are

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

routes between Patras and Igoumenitsa, Greece, and Brindisi and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, Italy, that cross the east and north of the Ionian Sea, and from

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 Saro ...

westward. Calypso Deep, the deepest point in the Mediterranean at , is in the Ionian Sea, at . The sea is one of the most

seismically active An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,0 ...

areas in the world.

Etymology

The name ''Ionian'' comes from the Greek word . Its etymology is unknown. Ancient Greek writers, especially

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

, linked it to the myth of Io. In

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

the adjective ''Ionios'' () was used as an epithet for the sea because Io swam across it. According to the '' Oxford Classical Dictionary'', the name may derive from Ionians who sailed to the West. There were also narratives about other

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ic legendary figures; according to one version, ''Ionius'' was a son of ''Adrias'' (eponymic for the

); according to another, ''Ionius'' was a son of '' Dyrrhachus''. When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers,

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

, 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. In local Albanian dialects, the sea is knows as "Fusha e zonjës", translated as "the lady's domain"

Geography

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters ...

defines the limits of the Ionian Sea as follows: ::''On the North.'' A line running from the mouth of the Butrinto River (39°44'N) in

, to Cape Karagol in

(39°45'N), along the North Coast of Corfu to Cape Kephali (39°45'N) and from thence to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca in Italy. ::''On the East.'' From the mouth of the Butrinto River in Albania down the coast of the mainland to Cape Matapan. ::''On the South.'' A line from Cape Matapan to Cape Passero, the Southern point of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. ::''On the West.'' The East coast of Sicily and the Southeast coast of Italy to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca.

Places

From south to north in the west, then north to south in the east: * Syracuse, port, W * Catania, port, W * Messina, port, W *

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important comme ...

, port N * Himara, small port, NE * Saranda, port and a beach, NE * Kerkyra, port, E * Igoumenitsa, port, E *

Parga Parga ( el, Πάργα ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the regional unit of Preveza in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on the Ionian coast between the ...

, small port, E * Preveza, port, E *

Astakos Astakos ( el, Αστακός, meaning "lobster") is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit.

, port, E *

Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the isl ...

, port, E * Patra, port, E *

Kyparissia Kyparissia ( el, Κυπαρισσία) is a town and a former municipality in northwestern Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trifylia, of which it is the seat and a municipal uni ...

, port, E * Pylos, port, E * Methoni, small port and a beach * Ionian Islands

Gulfs and straits

* Strait of Messina, W * Gulf of Catania, W * Gulf of Augusta, W * Gulf of Taranto, NW * Gulf of Squillace, NW *

Ambracian Gulf The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf ( el, Αμβρακικός κόλπος, translit=Amvrakikos kolpos), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Gre ...

, E * Gulf of Patras, connecting the Gulf of Corinth, ESE * Gulf of Kyparissia, SE *

Messenian Gulf The Messenian Gulf (, ''Messiniakós Kólpos'') is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of Messenia and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in Laconia. Its bounds are Venetiko Isla ...

, SE * Laconian Gulf, ESE

Islands

* Kefalonia *

* Zakynthos * Lefkada * Paxi *

Kythira Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...

Islets

Antikythera Antikythera or Anticythera ( ) is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. In antiquity the island was known as (). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kythira isla ...

* Antipaxi * Arkoudi * Atokos * Kalamos * Kastos * Ksamil Islands * Kravia * Kythros * Lazareto (Ithaca) * Lazaretto (Corfu) * Meganisi * Navtilos * Pontikonisi * Proti * Sphacteria * Skorpios * Sparti (Lefkada) * Strofades * Vido

History

The Sea was the location of the famous naval battle between Octavian and

Marc Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the auto ...

known as The Battle of Actium, a war fought in 31 BC, and is also famous for the hero from Ancient Greek mythology named Odysseus, who was from the island of Ithaca.

References

External links

The Ionian-Puglia Network of Ground Meteorological Stations (real-time weather observations)
{{Authority control Seas of Italy Seas of Greece Seas of Albania Albania–Greece border Marginal seas of the Mediterranean European seas Landforms of Corfu (regional unit) Landforms of the Ionian Islands (region) Landforms of Thesprotia Landforms of Epirus (region) Landforms of Preveza (regional unit) Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Landforms of Western Greece Landforms of Cephalonia Landforms of Achaea Landforms of Messenia Landforms of Peloponnese (region) Geography of Southern Europe