Massive underwater volcano discovered off SicilyAn underwater volcano has been discovered just off the shores of Sicily. The volcanicstructure, which incorporates peaks previously thought to be separate volcanoes, was namedEmpedocles after the Greek philosopher who named the four classic elements of earth, air,fire and water. The legend speaks of the philosopher who died by throwing himself into MountEtna, the nearby Sicilian volcano.The identification of Empedocles came during research into the submerged volcanic island ofFerdinandea just 40km off Sicily’s southern coast, now thought to be a part of Empedocles.Ferdinandea lies in a volcanic area known as the Campi Flegrei del Mar di Sicilia (PhlegraeanFields of the Sea of Sicily), which lies between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea.

Many submarine volcanoes (seamounts) exist inthe region, as well as some volcanic islands suchas Pantelleria.Volcanic activity at Ferdinandea was first reportedin the region during the First Punic War (264-241B.C.), and the island has appeared anddisappeared four or five times. Since the 17th century several eruptions have beenreported. Ferdinandea’s most recentappearance as an island was in July1831. During its brief life, the Frenchgeologist Constant Prévost was onhand with an artist to witness it that

July; he named it île Julia, for its Julyappearance, and reported in the Bulletin dela Société Géologique de France. The Kingof Naples sent Italian ships to the nascentisland to claim it for the Bourbon crown,while the French Navy also made a landingand called the island Giulia. Spain alsodeclared its territorial ambitions. In 2002, renewed seismic activity aroundFerdinandea led volcanologists to speculate that a new eruptive episode could be imminent,

and the seamount might once more become an island.Despite the fact that Malta is just less than 60 km to the south of Sicily, this discovery poses no threat to the people of Malta.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this poster is to highlight the Homeric Odyssey journey around the central- west Mediterranean area. Also describe andfocus on the geographical itineraries, the environmental setting and the palaeo-anthropological & socioeconomic background of theseafaring in the Mediterranean Sea during the Bronze Age.

It is well known that the Mediterranean Sea is a mid-latitude semi-enclosed sea, or almost isolated oceanic system. A shallow submarineridge (the Strait of Sicily) between the island of Sicily and the coast of Tunisia divides the sea in two main subregions (which in turn aredivided into subdivisions), the Western Mediterranean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Severe environmental turbulence natural phenomena (earthquakes, impact episodes, volcanic eruptions, drought or flood, epidemics),wars and conflicts, collapse of the main cultural centers and the constant human need for expansion, change and exploration triggeredseveral population’s flows to the Western Mediterranean.

The volcanic structures are quite complex showing a variety in geomorphological features, volcanicity’s expression and intensity andecological surroundings. Stromboli, Etna, Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, Lipari islands, the extincted volcanoes of Sardinia, the underwatervolcano of Ferdinandea of the Sicilian sea, which lies between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea, are among the most prominentexamples of the volcanic landscapes encountered by prehistoric travellers.

The mythological tales set in the Phlegraean Fields, apart from the Gigantomachy and its archaeoenvironmental interpretation, dealalso with three heroes: Heracles, Ulysses and Aeneias.

Homer’s description of the island of Aeolia and the other geographical evidence led many scholars to identify it with Malta. But somescholars maintain that Lipari or Stromboli is Aeolia. Lipari is the largest of a chain of seven islands in a volcanic archipelago that straddlesthe gap between Vesuvius and Etna, in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily. Its position has made the harbor of Lipari strategic.

In Neolithic Times Lipari was, with Sardinia, one of the few centers of the commerce of obsidian. In the Odyssey, Aeolus is describedas the controller or king of the winds. So, his role is pivotal in some major trade routes, as he may symbolize the priest who performs wind-magic or the prehistoric king who has the power to manipulate naval trade routes.

Moreover, Ulysses had been warned by both Tiresias and Circe of the two monsters Scylla and Charybdis. In Greek mythology, Scyllawas a sea monster who lived underneath a dangerous rock at one side of the Strait of Messina, opposite the whirlpool Charybdis.

The Song of the Sirens presents, equally, something of a puzzle. Legends of sirens (acoustically) tempting or deafening seafarers,abound around Malta. Perhaps Sirens were persons, possibly the best singers with the strongest voices. Illustrations show the similaritiesof the Hagar Qim Temple compound layout on Malta, when compared to a typical 800 MHz wireless antenna pattern, highlighting theunusual acoustics encountered in the temple complexes of Malta.

In one of the most famous passages of Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, a member of aprimordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead, who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country.Homer placed the cave of Polyphemus, who captured Odysseus and his comrades, on Etna’s slopes. Apart from various geoarchaeologicaland palaeontological interpretations, it is possible that the rare but occasional birth of malformed children affected by Cyclopia, a rarecongenital cephalic disorder, could have inspired the legend.

Mycenaean sailors undertook reconnaissance missions and regular trading voyages to the edges of the known world. Fragments ofMycenaean pottery found in Spain, Libya, Sicily, Sardinia, Southern Italy, and even, discovered most recently, in the central Italian city ofFlorence, permit us to map their journeys. Furthermore, the Sea People (Peleset, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denien = people of the isles, Weshesh,Lukka, Ekwesh - ?the Ahhiyawa of the Hittite texts & Sherden) firslty appeared in some Eastern Mediterranean texts of 14th cent. B.C.,mirror only a tiny part of the past sea migrations. The sea people were not mentioned by ancient Greek historians but they do by Plato andare called by him atlantes in his famous Kritias document.

ODYSSEUS’ JOURNEYSIN THE ARCHAEO-ENVIRONMENTS

OF WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

ODYSSEUS’ JOURNEYSIN THE ARCHAEO-ENVIRONMENTS

OF WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

LIPARI ISLAND - AEOLOS KINGDOMFrom the land of the Cyclops Ulysses (Odyssey, x. 1 – 76; Apollodorus E 7.10; Hyginus, 125 ; Ovidius Metamorphoses14.223-232) came to the kingdom of Aeolus, custodian of the winds, who welcomed him and his companions.Homer’s description of the island of Aeolia and the other geographical evidence led many

scholars to identify it with Malta. But some scholars maintainthat Lipari or Stromboli is Aeolia. In the Tyrrhenian Sea, north ofSicily and south of Naples, are some small islands which arecalled after the main one the Lipari islands or the Aeolianislands.Lipari (Roman Lipara, ancient Greek Meligunis) is the largest ofa chain of seven islands in a volcanic archipelago that straddlesthe gap between Vesuvius and Etna., in the Tyrrhenian Sea offthe north coast of Sicily. It is generally accepted that the islandwas created by a succession of four volcanic movements, themost important of which was the third one, presumably lastingfrom 20.000 BC to 13.000 BC. A further important

phenomenon should have happened around 9.000 BC. The last recordederuptions occurred in the fifth century CE, when the airborne pumice coveredRoman villages on the island. The volcanos are considered inactive, thoughsteaming fumaroles may still be seen. As a result ofthe volcanic origins, the island is covered withpumice and obsidian. Pumice mining has become alarge industry on Lipari, and the pale pumice fromLipari is shipped internationally.Aeolus is described as the son of Hellen (ancestor ofthe Hellenes) as the founder of the Aeolian orEastern-Greek ethnic group. In the Odyssey he ties

up adverse winds in a leather bag which he gives to Odysseus to assure a safe home-voyage,later myths refer to him as controller or king of the winds, in which role he persists through theages. Magical control of the winds only becomes important when seafaring is an critical part of anation’s life.

Information of images1. Aiolos gives Odysseus the bag of winds. 17th century etching Theodor van Thulden (1606 - 1669). Fine Art Museum SanFrancisco2. Wind and geopotential height at 850-mb level. ECMWF analysis at 1200Z, 1 July 19853.a. TOMS Data, 21 July 2002: shows data from the “Total Ozone Mapping pectrometer (TOMS)” on 21 July 2002. The data arecolor-coded to reveal levels of optical thickness, red being quite high, and gray at a lower level. Yellow areas depict a moderatelevel of dust in suspension.b. SeaWifs Image, 21 July 2002, 1200Z:a true color SeaWifs satellite image on the same day showing an area of raised dust in the same location as the TOMS data.Dust is also evident over the waters of the western Mediterranean. 4. NAAPS Aerosol Forecast and 3000 m Winds, 24 July 2002, 1200Z:the surface analysis for 24 July indicates some probable strengthening but little movement of the easterly wave over west Africa.Aloft, however, near the 700 mb level, a very strong anticyclonic circulation is revealed.

A. Laupi1, K. Kyriakopoulos2, C. Sideris2

and S. Papamarinopoulos3

1Centre for the Assessment of Natural Hazards and Proactive Planning-NTU ofAthens, alaoupi@otenet.gr

2Dept. Geology and Geoenvironment, University of Athens, ckiriako@geol.uoa.gr,and sideriscos@geol.uoa.gr3Deprt. of Geology , University of Patras papamar7@upatras.gr

One-eye Cyclops, Etna and CyclopiaIn Greek mythology a Cyclops, or Kyklops, is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his

forehead. There are two distinct groups of Cyclopes. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and bymodern scholars.

In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus releases the Cyclopes, Brontes (thunderer), Steropes (flasher) and Arges (brightener), the sons ofUranus and Gaia, from Tartarus, and receives his characteristic weapon, the thunderbolt, from them. they were strong, stubborn, and“abrupt of emotion”.

In one of the most famous passages of Homer’s Odyssey (book ix.162 ff. See also Apollodorus, E 7.7), the hero Odysseusencounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and Thoosa, who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country.Another member of this group of Cyclopes was Telemus, a seer. This tale from the Odyssey is more humorously told in the onlysurviving satyr play, entitled Cyclops by Euripides. The Sicilian Greek poet Theocritus wrote two poems circa 275 BC concerningPolyphemus’ love for Galatea, a sea nymph.

1.London 1947.7-14.18: Classical ca. 410 B.C. - 400 B.C.; Lucanian Red Figure; Calyx krater; Side A: the blinding of Polyphemos[Vase] (4.18). Cyclops Painter

FIGURE AHomer placed the cave of Polyphemus, who captured Odysseus and his comrades, on Etna’s slopes.

Etna (its name derives from the Greek word aitho, or “I burn”), towers above Catania, on the eastern coast ofSicily. Its geological characteristics indicate that it has been active for more than two-and-a-half millionyears. For the ancient Greeks, the mountain housed the workshop of Hephaestus, otherwise known asVulcan, the god of fire and metalwork. Another myth said that Typhon, a 100-headed monster who was theson of earth goddess Gaia, was trapped under Mount Etna by Zeus after he tried to rebel, and he has beenspitting out his angry flames ever since.

Kyklops in Greek also means “circle-eyed”. This word may have started with an ordinary real two-eyedpeople who in battle painted circles round their eyes to look fearsome; later the word was misinterpreted. Furthermore, it is possible thatthe rare but occasional birth of malformed children affected by cyclopia, a rare congenital cephalic disorder, could have inspired thelegend. Cyclopia is a rare (40:10,000 in embryos) form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital abnormality (birth defect) characterizedby the failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits into two cavaties. Cyclopia is also known as synophthalmia,which is the fusion of the eyes” One-eyed creatures are not confined to the realm of Greek epic; such mutants can actually be found innature. Defects in a gene called “sonic hedgehog” (which was, indeed, named after the videogame) can, among other things, cause thetwo cerebral hemispheres of the brain to fuse, resulting in the development of a single, central eye.

FIGURES B, C, DWestern false hellebore is a native perennial herb 1-8 feet tall, with erect, unbranched, very leafy stems; the leaves are broad,

large, alternate and three-ranked, sheathing the stem, somewhat folded, strongly parallel veined. Flowers are in large panicles at top,white to greenish with the three sepals and three petals alike. Veratrum belong to the Liliaceae family and are broad-leaved perennialsthat grow from thick, fibrous rootstocks. The star-shaped flowers of V. californicum are white in color; those of V. viridae tend to be palegreen. The fruits are three-chambered capsules that contain numerous brown, winged, flat seeds. Fifty species of Veratrum are

distributed throughout Europe and North America. Both grow in mountainous areas where moist or swampy conditions exist. 60 toxicsteroidal alkaloids have been isolated from Veratrum species. Many have potent hypotensive properties. Three of the alkaloids areteratogenic (jervine, cyclopamine and cycloposine). 45 grams of root/rhizome given twice daily for three days to ewes beginning on day29 of gestation induced typical limb deformities in lambs. Infact, the word “hellebore” is from the Greek elleboros. Thescientific name is from the Latin veratrum, both terms wereused in antiquity for unknown poisonous plants. Later, thosein the Lily family were given the Latin name veratrum; andthose in the Buttercup family the Greek name, helleborus.Thus, “true” hellebores are Ranunculaceae and “false”hellebores are Liliaceae. All are poisonous, althoughpotentially with therapeutic value.

FIGURES E, F, G

Scylla & Charybdis«..And after that Odysseus came to two ways. On the one side were the Wandering Rocks, and on

the other side two huge cliffs, and in one of them was Scylla, adaughter of Crataeis and Trienus or Phorcus, with the face andbreast of a woman, but from the flanks she had six heads andtwelve feet of dogs».Ulysses had been warned by both Tiresias and Circe of the twomonsters Scylla and Charybdis. In Greek mythology, Scylla was asea monster who lived underneath a dangerous rock at one side ofthe Strait of Messia, opposite the whirlpool Charybdis. Terrible andhorrible freak of the sea, she devoured the unfortunate seamen,

when the heavy sea threw their ship into her cave. The other terror, Charybdis, was a gulf nearly on alevel with the water.Thrice each day the water rushed into a frightful chasm, and thrice was disgorged. Any vessel comingnear the whirlpool when the tide was rushing in must inevitably be engulfed; not Neptune himselfcould save it. The roar of the waters as Charybdis engulfed them gave warning at a distance, butScylla could nowhere be discerned. The myth of Scylla and Charybdis, is first known by Homer in hisepic poem Odyssey (xii, 55 - 126 / 201 - 259, 426 / 446. See also Apollodorus, E 7.20 ff.). Homeralso mentions the former passage of the Argo between the Wandering or Clashing Rocks (Apollodorus A.9.22). It has beensuggested that the story of the Wandering Rocks is a confused reminiscence of some sailor’s story of floating icebergs.The crossing of all the Straits in the imaginary of the ancients, has always constituted a initiatory test for the hero, called to challengethe adverse strengths of the nature and open new horizons of knowledge. The navigation of the Straits of Messina has represented asituation of serious danger for the sailors, with their objective difficulties for the rapid and irregular tides, for the winds that exhalethere violent and sometimes in conflict among them, for the oceanic depths of some lines of sea and for the richness of the varietiesof the fish fauna that includes.Scylla and Charybdis offer the opportunity to expose relative thesis both to the genesis of the Straits (a flood of the sea thatdemolished the edge of earth that united Sicily to the continent) and to the explanation of the sea vortexes (Charybdis is with thewhirling sea that swallow the boats and drag her, making to resurface her up to the beaches of Taormina). Information of imagesFig. B. Greek Mythology, Ekdotiki Athenon, Athens, 1986, vol. 2, The Gods, p. 250 “ Scylla “ Melian Relief . B’ quarter of 5 thcent. B.C. ( 475 - 450 B.C. ). London British Museum B 374

THE FLEGREAN FIELDS AND THE REALM OF ADESThe mythological tales set in the Phlegraean Fields deal with three heroes: Heracles, Ulysses and Aeneias.1. The myth of Heracles in the Phlegraean Fields is mainly related to twoepisodes: the Gigantomachy and the construction of the coast road betweenlake Lucrinus and the sea. In ancient times, the remains of the wild boar ofErymanthus were believed to be kept in the temple of Apollo at Cumae. Thecapture of this wild boar had been one of the twelve labours performed by thehero.2. Baia includes the vast area between the promontory of Miseno and theLake of Lucrino. Its name derives from the place where Baios, a helmsmanof Ulysses got buried. In the Campi Flegrei the ground is subsiding and theancient Roman ruins are disappearing below the waves. There the Homerichero descended into Hades and spoke with the deads.3. The mythical Cumaean Sibyl was consulted by Aeneias when he was fleeingTroy (according to Virgil) to give him instructions to descend to the underworld.The entry to the underworld (Hades) was at the nearby volcanic crater ofAvernus. The Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonianoracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy.The underworld realms of Hades (Odyssey, v, x & xi) call to mind firstly that there are more than 24.000 linear kilometers ofcaves underlying the greater part of Europe, and also that during the various glacial periods these caves were the home ofman as well as a variety other animals. The world of Hades is also drawn graphically from the world of the caves. “Ghosts”live there, the spirits of the dead, too. But when Homer calls the “forceless heads of the dead” which flit by Odysseus in hisunderworld venture, may have been referred to the flight of sonar-guided bats. The “hateful” example of Styx (Gr.’styg-’=”hate”), are the dead, unoxygenated waters which flow beneath the earth. Cerberus of the three mouths is probably nothingmore than the triple echo of the sounds of cave-dwellers calling out to each other in the infernal darkness. Lacking physicalunderstanding of sound waves, reflection and echoes, ancient men would naturally infer a real agent, so that a muted,echoing roar would be taken as the sound of the Dog of Hell. The less known river, Pyriplegithron “the burning, fiery one”, mayshow knowledge of underground coal-gas or methane conflagrations, spontaneously combusted. (www.middlebury.edu/~harris)

The Sea People, Sardinia and the MyceneansSardinia (Sardegna in Italian, Sardigna or Sardinna in the Sardinian language) is the second largest island in theMediterranean Sea (Sicily is the largest), between Italy, Spain andTunisia, south of Corsica. It forms part of Italy. Broadly speaking, three separate geological zones can be distinguished, aneastern and a western mountainous zone and a central zone that was originally submerged and was filled mostly withlimestones, marls, and some sandstones; Ologocene and Pliocene-Pleistocene volcanoes are both attested in the centralzone, the former contributing trachytes and trachytic tuffs, the latter, extensive basaltic plains. There are also some older andyounger alluvial plains and Aeolian dunes in various regions. Although there are very few high mountains, Sardinia is in fact amountainous region, characterized by much-eroded high plains and plateaux and by steep and abrupt slopes.

FIG A

In 1979 human remains were found that were dated to 150.000 B.C. The first men to settle inGallura and Northern Sardinia probably came from Italian peninsula, possibly Tuscany. The centralregion may have been populated by people arriving from the Iberian Peninsula through the BalearicIslands. In Prehistory Sardinia’s inhabitants developed a trade in obsidian and this activity broughtSardinians into contact with most of the Mediterranean people. Desiccated grapes, recently found inseveral locations, were DNA tested and proved to be the oldest grapes in the world, dating back to1200 B.C.. The Cannonau wine is made with these grapes and may qualify as the mother of all theEuropean wines.From Neolithic times until the Roman Empire, the Nuragic civilisation tookshape on the island. Still today, more than 9,000 Nuraghe survive. At the beginning of the nuragic ageca 1500 B.C. the island was first called Hyknusa (latinized Ichnusa) by the Mycenaeans and later bythe Euboians, probably meaning island (nusa) of the Hyksos, the people who had just been expelledby Ahmose I of Egypt circa 1540 B.C. Sandalyon was its second name, probably due to its shape,recalling a footprint. Last and present name has been Sardinia, for the Shardana (Sharden by thePhoenicians), whose invasion on Egypt was defeated by Ramesses III ca 1180 BC., coming from theEastern Mediterranean.

FIG B,C

The names of the moving groups demonstrate the turbilence that shook the circum-Mediterraneanregion. The earliest mention of the Sea Peoples proper is in an inscription of the Egyptian pharaohMerneptah (1213 B.C. - 1204 B.C.), although mention of individual groups does occur earlier (i.e.Denien, during the reign of Amenhotep III, and Shardana, as mercenaries to Ramses II). Merneptahstates that in the fifth year of his reign, he defeated an invasion of an allied force of Libyans and theSea People, killing 6.000 soldiers and taking 9.000 prisoners. About 20 years later, another haraoh,Ramses III ( ca. 1196 - 1070 B.C.), was forced to deal with another invasion of the Sea Peoples.

Generally, many names appeared in thosetexts, the Peleset, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denien= people of the isles, Weshesh, Lukka,

Ekwesh - ?the Ahhiyawa of the Hittite texts and Sherden Somehave connected the name ‘Teresh’ to the Hittite city Taruisas, Troy.The seafaring Etruscans may simply have sought brides from amongtheir client or host populations, accounting for the mitochodrial DNA.At the other end of the spectrum of possibilities, perhaps someTrojans emigrated to Etruria, accounting for the different names. Inan effort to resolve the contradictions, a team of geneticists fromdifferent universities in Italy and Spain undertook the first genetic studies of theancient Etruscans, based on mitochondrial DNA from 80 bone samples takenfrom tombs dating from the 7th century to the 3rd century BC in Etruria. Theresults are enlightening but also contradictory. This initial genetic study of theEtruscans finds that they were more related to each other than to the populationof modern Italy; i.e., they qualify as a partially distinct genetic pool, or “people.”

FIG D

Hypereia and the PhaeaciansWhen Odysseus (Odyssey , vii.93 ff.), is laid to the famous palace of king Alcinoos (Phaeacia, in Greek,means the ‘shining land’), an interesting archaeoenvironmental story begins to unravel.King Nausithous, head of Phaeacians’ race, led out of Hypereia when giant stones (‘the gifts of Mars’) werehurled upon their land (Odyssey, vi.3 & ix.110; Pausanias, 8.28.1; Strabo, 13.1.25; Souidas, s.v. ‘Kyklopes’).This may be a part of a terrible destruction all over Eastern Mediterranean. In fact, many scholars locate the

birthplace of Phaeacians in Sicily, where the peaceful inhabitantshad to confront the Cyclops who symbolized the catastrophic naturalforces. Ancient writers hold , also, various key items of informationfor us. Pausanias (7.24.5 ff.), when describing the catastrophe ofHelike in 373 B.C., knew an analogy from his homeland. I t was themythical city of Tantalis on mount Sipylos (N.W. of Ermos river),48 km. east of Smyrna, which disappeared into a chasm (? the city of Zippasla in the Hittite texts).

Sirens – Malta’s temples & the field of Radio ArchaeologyThe Song of the Sirens presents something of a puzzle, sincemusic is generally thought to bepleasing and soothing, notthreatening anddestructive. The evidence concerning theappearance of the Sirens may be twofold: On the one hand theyare said to be birdlike with the faces of women.Sailors in the last two centuries have averred that they actuallysaw mermaids, fish with womens’ heads, which modernoceanographers explain as visual phenomena (the way porpoisesand seals might have looked to the eyes of sex-starved men toolong at sea).

Late Archaic (ca 500 - 480 BC) Attic Red Figure Stamnos. British Museum, London E440.Beazley Archive Number: 202628. The Siren Painter Side A: Odysseus bound to the mast ofhis ship listens to the deadly song of the Seirenes. One of the bird-shaped maidens, castsherself from her perch in despair.

It has been suggested, at various times, that ancient humans had knowledge and use ofunseen powers, forces and energy fields.There is no question, that as it hasalways existed, the EM Spectrum is anaturally occurring part of ourenvironment, comprised of a continuoussequence of electromagnetic energyarranged according to wavelength or frequency, as generated by particlemotion (vibrations) and pulses created from many sources.Turning his attention to the ancient temples of Malta, Slovakianresearcher Dr. Pavel Smutny explains that complexes were usedprobably as generators of high frequency acoustic waves. Purposes

were (maybe) to arrange a communication channel among various islands. Legends abound around Malta of sirens(acoustically) tempting or deafening seafarers. Sirens were persons, possibly the best singers with the strongest voices,namely obese or thick women, such as some modern opera stars. Many statues of just such woman have been discoveredeverywhere on Malta including temples, standing on pedestals in the middle of complexes.The oval multi-chambered configuration of the Maltese temples would allow signals formed from groups of air particles, beforeoutput, to be amplified in a second parallel opposite oval spaces of the temple. This would be analogous with a resonator.

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The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin mediterraneus, ‘inland’(medius, ‘middle’ + terra, ‘land, earth’), in Greek “mesogeios”. TheMediterranean Sea has been known by a number of alternative namesthroughout human history. It was, for example, commonly called MareNostrum (Latin, Our Sea), and occasionally Mare Intestinum by theRomans.The many seasThe Mediterranean Sea is a mid-latitude semi-enclosed sea, or almostisolated oceanic system. Many processes which are fundamental to thegeneral circulation of the world ocean also occur within the Mediterranean,either identically or analogously.The Mediterranean Sea exchanges water, salt, heat, and other propertieswith the North Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is known to play animportant role in the global thermohaline circulation, as the major site ofdeep- and bottom-water formation for the global thermohaline cell(conveyor belt) which encompasses the Atlantic, Southern, Indian, andPacific Oceans. The salty water of Mediterranean origin may affect waterformation processes and variabilities and even the stability of the globalthermohaline equilibrium state.

The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1.500 m. and the deepestrecorded point is 5267 m. in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. Thecoastline extends for 46. 000 km. A shallow submarine ridge (the Strait ofSicily) between the island of Sicily and the coast of Tunisia divides the sea intwo main subregions (which in turn are divided into subdivisions), the WesternMediterranean and the Eastern Mediterranean. The Western Mediterraneancovers an area of about 0.85 million km2 and the Eastern Mediterraneanabout 1.65 million km2.The Physical Oceanography of W. MediterraneanThere are strong affinities and relationships between Mediterranean andAtlantic faunas. Endemic speciesremain a biogeographical problem.Species always become smaller insize eastward where theyoccupy aprogressively deeper habitat. Thus,the existing deep Mediterranean Seaappears to be younger than any otherdeep-sea constituent of the World

Ocean. The Mediterraneancomprises 0.82 % of the surface ofthe World Ocean and 0.35 % of itsvolume.Coastal and shelf areas of theMediterraneanThe Mediterranean Sea is composed of two morphologically differentshelf areas: the first is narrow with a steep continental slope and thesecond is a river dominated shelf area with a gentle sloping continentalshelf break. The first kind is normally found all along the Mediterraneancoastlines with the exception of the river delta areas, particularly the Nile,the Rhone (Gulf of Lions), the Po (North Adriatic Sea) and the Ebro, theSicily Strait area and the Gulf of Sirte.Information of imageA. R. Robinson, W. G. Leslie, A. Theocharis & A. Lascaratos , 2001.Mediterranean Sea Circulation. Academic Press :1. Mediterranean seas, 2.Temperature and currents during summer inMediterranean.

Genetic substratum of W. MediterraneanY-chromosome (mrDNA) variation was analyzed in a sample of 1127 males from the Western Mediterranean area. Some populations fromNortheastern Europe and the Middle East were also studied for comparison. All Y-chromosome haplotypes were included in a genealogic treeconsisting of 17 haplogroups, several of which displayed distinct geographic specificities. One of the haplogroups, HG9.2, has some features thatare compatible with a spread into Europe from the Near East the Neolithic period. However, the current distribution of this haplogroup would suggestthat the Neolithic gene pool had a major impact in the eastern and central part of the Mediterranean basin, but very limited consequences in Iberiaand Northwestern Europe. Two other haplogroups, HG25.2 and HG2.2, were found to have much more restricted geographic distributions. The firstmost likely originated in the Berbers within the last few thousand years, and allows the detection of gene flow to Iberia and Southern Europe. Thelatter haplogroup is common only in Sardinia, which confirms the genetic peculiarity and isolation of the Sardinians. Overall, this study demonstratesthat the dissection of Y-chromosome variation into haplogroups with a more restricted geo-graphic distribution can reveal important differences evenbetween populations that live at short distances, and provides new clues to their past interactions.Rosaria Scozzari et al. , 2001. Human Y-Chromosome Variation in the Western Mediterranean Area: Implications for the Peopling of the Region.Human Immunology 62, pp. 871–884. American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics

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