Gymnesian Islands "Baliarides". After the whole archipelago (the "Pityuses" and "Gymnesians") came under Roman rule, the islands gained the overall Latin name "Insulae Baliares" or "Baleares Insulae"; the collective concept has continued in use in modern languages, hence ultimately the English name "Balearic Islands". Gymnesian Islands The Gymnesians ( , ), or Gymnesic Islands (), is a collective name given to the two largest (and easternmost) Balearic islands, Majorca and Menorca, distinguishing them from the Pityuses (Catalan: "Illes Pitiüses"; Spanish: "Pitiusas"), or Pine Islands, Ibiza and Formentera. The word "Gymnesian" (from the Greek γυμνήτες "gymnetes") means "naked". The Ancient Greeks recruited the
Balearic Islands the world). Both were extremely fertile in all produce, except wine and olive oil. They were celebrated for their cattle, especially for the mules of the lesser island; they had an immense number of rabbits, and were free from all venomous reptiles. Amongst the snails valued by the Romans as a diet was a species from the Balearic isles called "cavaticae" because they were bred in caves. Their chief mineral product was the red earth, called "sinope", which was used by painters. Their resin and pitch are mentioned by Dioscorides. The population of the two islands is stated by Diodorus