Euxine Pontus (Greek: Pontos Euxeinos, literally “Hospitable Sea”) was the ancient name of the Black Sea. Until the 6th century BC, it was called Axeinos Pontos (“Inhospitable Sea”). The renaming was connected to the intensification of the Greeks’ economic and cultural relations with the populations of the Black Sea region and the founding of Greek colonies there.
The Euxine Pontus was an important trade route between the coastal peoples, the Greek world, and Southeastern Europe. Due to storms and frequent piracy, until the 4th century BC routes generally followed the coastline. Greek and Roman writers and geographers of antiquity compiled so-called periploi (priplus - sailing manual), in which they described in detail the routes of the Euxine Pontus, its coastal regions, and its inhabitants.
In the 1st century BC, because of the growing influence of the Scythians in the northern Black Sea region, the Euxine Pontus was often referred to as the “Sea of the Scythians.”