Libyan Sea
{{Short description|Portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the African coast of ancient Libya}}
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File:Hairpin turns on Kapsodasos to Kallikratis road.jpg plain and Libyan Sea from Crete. Gavdos is barely seen on the horizon at the right]]
File:Relief Map of Mediterranean Sea.png]]
File:Preveli Libyan Sea 20150826 02.JPG
The Libyan Sea ({{langx|la|Libycum Mare}}; {{langx|ar|البحر الليبي}}; {{langx|el|Λιβυκό πέλαγος}}) is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica (the coast of what is now eastern Libya and western Egypt, between Tobruk and Alexandria).George Ripley and Charles Anderson Dana, The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge, 1861, D. Appleton and Co.
The region of the Libyan Sea located south of Crete is also known as the South Cretan Sea ({{lang|el|Νότιο Κρητικό Πέλαγος}}).{{cite web|url=https://ypen.gov.gr/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Files/Dimosia%20Diavouleysi/20181114_MSFD_assessment_final_compressed.pdf|title=Τεχνική Έκθεση Οδηγία Πλαίσιο για τη Θαλάσσια Στρατηγική (2008/56/EK)|author=Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece|date=October 2018|access-date=20 November 2024}}{{cite book|author=Eastern Crete Development Organization|title=Crete Map|year=2004|publisher=Fotis Serfas}}
Name
{{Main|Ancient Libya}}
The term Libyan Sea (Mare Libycum) was used by ancient geographers to describe the part of the Mediterranean Sea south of Crete, between Cyrene and Alexandria. It referred to the region of "Libya" in antiquity, which encompassed much of North Africa west of the Nile River. The name "Libya" (Greek: Λιβύη, Libyē) originally referred to a broader area than the modern country of Libya.Herodotus 1.46
In ancient times, "Libya" described the lands and peoples of North Africa, such as the Libu and Meshwesh tribes, as recorded by Greek and Roman sources.Oric Bates (1914), The Eastern Libyans. The modern usage of "Libyan Sea" continues this tradition and is commonly found in maps and travel literature.Crete Map, Eastern Crete Development Organization (2004) Fotis Serfas
Geography
The surface area of the Mediterranean is about 350,000 km2.{{cite web | url=https://www.atlanticoceanmap.com/libyan-sea/ | title=Libyan Sea Map – Locations and Maps of Atlantic Ocean }}
The southern coastline of Crete, which borders the Libyan Sea, includes the Asterousia Mountains and Mesara Plain; this area is the locus of considerable ancient Bronze Age settlement including the sites of Kommos, Hagia Triada and Phaistos.{{Cite web |url=http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/10857/phaistos.html#fieldnotes |title=C.Michael Hogan, Phaistos fieldnotes, The Modern Antiquarian, 2007 |access-date=1 March 2008 |archive-date=16 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416164450/http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/10857/phaistos.html#fieldnotes |url-status=live }}
Not counting Crete, other islands in the Libyan Sea are Gavdos, Gavdopoula, Koufonisi, and Chrysi.
To the east is the Levantine Sea, to the north the Ionian Sea, and to the west the Strait of Sicily.
See also
References
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{{Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea}}
{{Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean}}
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Category:Seas of the Mediterranean Sea
Category:Marginal seas of the Mediterranean
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