Forty-three miles south of Athens, Greece, one can find the magnificent cliffs of Cape Sounion. This is a beautiful site with breathtaking sunset views over the Aegean Sea. But also the site of a tragedy recounted in Greek mythology.

King Aegeus was the ruler of ancient Athens. His son Theseus offered to go to Crete and kill the Minotaur that was then taking six young men and six girls every year to satisfy his hunger. Theseus agreed that he would announce his fate by displaying white sails on his ship upon his return home. Aegeus waited on Cape Sounion, overlooking the sea, for his son’s return. When he saw Theseus’ ship approach with black sails, signifying Theseus’ death, Aegeus was devastated. He threw himself off the cliff and into the sea where he perished. Unfortunately, this was all a tragic mistake. Theseus had successfully killed the Minotaur, and left the labyrinth very much alive. But he inadvertently forgot to change the black sails to white. This misunderstanding ended Aegeus’ life. The body of water hence became known as the Aegean Sea.

Abstracted from The Legend of Aegeus - The Mistake of a Son and the Death of a King ancient-origins.net