The northeastern Mediterranean Sea between the east coast of Greece and Turkey is named after the Greek mythical figure Aegeus, the king of Athens and father of the legendary hero Theseus. There are countless islands and island groups here, such as the Dodecanese, the Sporades and the Cyclades. Most of them were settled by the Greeks in 1000 BC. Viticulture and wine culture has an ancient tradition on many of these islands. Already in ancient times the best Greek wines were produced here, which were delivered as far as Rome. On Chios (Khios) died the poet Homer (8th century BC), the island was considered in antiquity as the "Bordeaux of Greek wines". In the Middle Ages, sweet wines from the islands became especially popular, shipped through the port of Monemvasia. The most important are Crete, Lesvos, Limnos, Mykonos, Paros, Rhodes, Samos and Santorini (pictured). Most have appellations classified as POP. The vineyards cover about 9,000 hectares of vines. See also under Ionian Islands (west coast of Greece).