In Greek mythology, which sea is traditionally named after Aegeus’s death?

In Greek mythology, the Aegean Sea is traditionally named after Aegeus’s death.

Aegeus was the king of Athens and the father of Theseus. Before Theseus sailed to Crete, Aegeus asked him to display a white sail if the expedition succeeded. Theseus killed the Minotaur and escaped, but he forgot to replace the ship’s dark sail with the promised white one.

When Aegeus saw the dark sail approaching, he concluded that Theseus had died. The myth says that he threw himself into the sea, which then took his name. The story provides a legendary explanation for the name Aegean, although the sea’s name has a more complicated historical and linguistic background.

The Aegean Sea lies between mainland Greece and Anatolia and includes many islands. It is also connected geographically with Crete, the island at the center of the Minotaur story. The sea’s mythic naming tradition is therefore a direct neighboring fact to Theseus’s escape.