BC) judged it as large as the Black Sea, while the Pseudo-Scylax (4th century BC) thought it about half as large.

It was long believed to provide direct communication with the Arctic Ocean. Polybius (2nd century BC) confidently expected that the strait to the Sea of Azov would close in the near future, due to ongoing deposition of sediments from rivers. In the 1st century, Strabo