The Aegean Sea (Greek--Aigaion Pelagos) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Asia Minor. The name is variously explained in writings of antiquity as derived from Aegeus, king of Athens and father of Theseus, or from Aegea, a queen of the Amazons who drowned in the sea, or from an ancient Greek town named Aegae. The Aegean Sea is about 644km (400mi) long and about 290km (180mi) wide. It is connected with the Sea of Marmara in the northeast by the Strait of the Dardanelles. The Aegean Sea is irregular in outline with numerous gulfs, and is studded with islands, including the Sporades, Cyclades, and Dodecanisa. It was the center of one of the earliest known European civilizations.