The nameIonian comes from the Greek wordIonion (Ἰόνιον). Its etymology is unknown.[4] Ancient Greek writers, especiallyAeschylus, linked it to the myth ofIo. Inancient Greek the adjectiveIonios (Ἰόνιος) was used as anepithet for the sea because Io swam across it.[5][6][7] According to theOxford Classical Dictionary, the name may derive fromIonians who sailed to the West,[8] however the word for Ionians is spelled with an omega ( Ἴωνες) rather than an omicron as in the word for the Ionian Sea. There were also narratives about othereponymic legendary figures;[9] according to one version,Ionius was a son ofAdrias (eponymic for theAdriatic Sea); according to another,Ionius was a son ofDyrrhachus.[10] When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers,Heracles, who was passing through the area, came to his aid, but in the fight the hero killed his ally's son by mistake. The body was cast into the water, and thereafter was called the Ionian Sea.
On the North. A line running from the mouth of theButrinto River (39°44'N) inAlbania, to Cape Karagol inCorfu (39°45'N), along the North Coast of Corfu to Cape Kephali (39°45'N) and from thence toCape Santa Maria di Leuca in Italy.
On the East. From the mouth of the Butrinto River in Albania down the coast of the mainland toCape Matapan.
On the South. A line from Cape Matapan toCape Passero, the Southern point ofSicily.
On the West. The East coast of Sicily and the Southeast coast of Italy to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca.
Gjipe in the south ofAlbania where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian SeaThe Ionian Sea, view from the islandLefkada, GreeceCape Drastis and the Ionian Sea,Corfu Island
From south to north in the west, then north to south in the east:
A number of major naval engagements would be fought over the eastern section of the sea and its islands throughout the modern era, culminating in its control by the modern state ofGreece. The western section of the Ionian sea was always controlled since theMiddle Ages by the kingdom of the Two Sicilies and since 1861 by the Kingdom ofItaly.[15]
