the ancient name of a group of islands in the Aegean Sea, which were so called because they were irregularly scattered, in opposition to the Cyclades, which lay in a circle round Delos. Their names, as enumerated by Strabo, are—Pholegandros, Sceinos, Ios, Thera, Therasia, Anaphe, Lagusa, Amorgos, Astypalaea, Icaria, the Cosariss, Patmos, Leria, Lebintbos, the Calydnae, Nisyros, Telos, Chalcia, and Casos. Pliny gives a much longer list of the Sporades, and some geographers include this group among that of the Cyclades. The most important of the islands are described under their several names.