Sea or bay
Pontus Euxinus
Schwarzes Meer
Listen to the story
Pontus Euxinus, the Black Sea, is named in huge, widely spaced letters that stretch along the open water, starting just past the straits between Europe and Asia. Greek sailors once called it the inhospitable sea, before the flattering name, the hospitable sea, took hold. The letters close up towards the end and stop short, leaving the far end free for the name of a land region. The last letters are worn, and the final S can no longer be made out. Along the European shore the water carries a second, separate name, beginning near the mouths of the Danube.