Greeks. The Aegean world can be defined as Greece, western Asia Minor, and the islands of the Aegean Sea, including Crete. It is still not clear how early the ancient Egyptians became aware of these areas. At a late date in Egyptian history, a peculiar term, Hau-nebu, is used for the islands of the Aegean. It is not completely clear how this term is to be explained; its literal meaning seems to be something such as, "Those who are behind the baskets," and the most common explanation holds that "basket" in this context refers to the Aegean islands. The term Hau-nebu occurs quite early in Egyptian history, as early as the Old Kingdom (circa 2675-2130 B.C.E.), but whether it refers to the Aegean at this early date is less clear and has been doubted by many. An early knowledge of...