The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

is formed between the peninsulas of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

and

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

and forms part of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. It defines the eastern side of the

isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The wide Isthmus was known in the a ...

, being the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus. The Saronic Islands in the gulf have played a pivotal role in the

history of Greece The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied thro ...

, with the largest, Salamis being the location of 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 Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

. The Megara Gulf makes up the northern end of the Saronic Gulf. The

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

urban area lies on the north coast of the Saronic Gulf.

Etymology

The origin of the gulf's name comes from the

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

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 underworld. ...

, each guarded by a chthonic enemy in the shape of a thief or bandit.

History

The Battle of Salamis, fought in 480 BCE in the Saronic Gulf near modern-day

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) 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 Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, was a major naval engagement in which the Athenian-led Greek fleet defeated the much larger Persian forces of Xerxes I. The victory was a turning point 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 Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

and contributed significantly to

' rise as a dominant power in the classical Greek world. The ancient port of Cenchreae used to be situated here.

Geography

The gulf includes the

islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

, Salamis, and Poros along with smaller islands of Patroklos and Fleves. The port of

, Athens' port, lies on the northeastern edge of the gulf. The site of the former Ellinikon International Airport is also in the northeast. Beaches line much of the gulf coast from Poros to

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

, Galataki to Kineta and from

Megara Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

and from Piraeus down to Anavyssos. Athens' urban area surrounds the northern and the eastern coasts of this gulf. Bays in the gulf include Phaleron Bay, Elefsina Bay to the north, Kechries Bay in the northwest and Sofiko Bay in the east. The volcano of Methana 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. Poros panorama

Tributaries

*Kechries Bay *Saronic Bay Coast (basin) **Lower Galataki Basin **Upper Galataki Basin ** Examilia Basin ** Athikia Basin * Loutro Basin *Megara Bay/ Megara Gulf * Cephissus River (Eleusis) * Cephissus (Athenian plain) between

and Phaliron.

Capes

* Cape Lomvardi - SW of Vouliagmeni

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 In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

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 on Aegina.

Other

The Saronic Gulf is one of congregating areas for short-beaked common dolphins in Aegean Sea. On recent occasions, more of large

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s such as fin whales have been sighted in the gulf due to improving environmental conditions.

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)