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 Phoenician origin; perhaps the islands were sacred to the god Baal and the resemblance to the Greek root ΒΑΛ (in /"ballo") is accidental. Indeed, it was usual Greek practice to assimilate local names into their own language. But the common Greek name of the islands is not /"Baleareis", but /"Gymnesiai". The former was the name used by the natives, as well as by the Carthaginians and Romans, while the latter probably derives from the light equipment of the Balearic troops /"gymnetae". The Balearic Islands are on a raised platform called the Balearic Promontory, and were formed by uplift. They are