The ancient Greek name of the Aegean Sea, Archipelago (ἀρχιπέλαγος, archipelagos), was later applied to the islands it contains and is now used more generally, to refer to any island group.

The vast majority of the Aegean Islands belong to Greece, being split among nine administrative regions.

Various smaller islets off Turkey's western coast are also under Turkish sovereignty.

The Aegean Islands are traditionally subdivided into seven groups, from north to south: The term Italian Islands of the Aegean (Italian: Isole Italiane dell’Egeo) is sometimes used to refer to the Aegean Islands conquered by Italy during the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 and annexed (through the Treaty of Lausanne) from 1923 until 1947: the Dodecanese, including Rhodes and Kastellorizo.

In the Treaty of Peace in 1947, these Italian-controlled islands were ceded to Greece.