Gymnesian Islands
The Gymnesians (Template:Langx Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Langx Script error: No such module "IPA".), or Gymnesic Islands (Template:Langx),[1] is a collective name given to the two largest (and easternmost) Balearic Islands, Mallorca and Menorca, distinguishing them from the Pityuses (Template:Langx; Template:Langx), or Pine Islands, Ibiza and Formentera.
Etymology
The word Gymnesian (from the Template:Langx Script error: No such module "lang".) means 'naked'. The Greeks called the islands Gymnesiae (Template:Langx). According to Diodorus Siculus the Greeks called the islands like this because the inhabitants were naked during the summer time.[2] The Ancient Greeks recruited the local inhabitants of these islands, the Talaiotics, as slingers. According to some researchers, this does not mean that they fought naked, but that they used much lighter armament than the hoplites.
Name usage
Later the Phoenicians referred to both Mallorca and Menorca as the Baliarides. After the whole archipelago (the Pityuses and Gymnesians) came under Roman rule, the islands gained the overall Latin name Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "Lang".; the collective concept has continued in use in modern languages, hence ultimately the English name Balearic Islands.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Strabo Geography Book III, Chapter 2
- Belenguer, E. Història de les illes Balears. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2004. 525 p. Template:ISBN (volume I)
Script error: No such module "Coordinates".