The Pityusic Islands, often referenced simply as the Pityuses ( , ; from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

πιτύα ''pitýa'', pine tree), or commonly but informally (and ambiguously) as the Pine Islands, is the name given collectively to the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

(Catalan: ''Eivissa''), Formentera,

S'Espalmador S'Espalmador (; ) is a small, privately owned uninhabited island located in the Balearic Islands. Features The island is just to the north of Formentera, from which it is separated by a shallow sandbar. During low tide, it is possible to wad ...

and other small islets in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Geography

The islands are situated approximately southwest of the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, and approximately east of the Cap de la Nau in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

History

The first known name of the islands was the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

geonym Πιτυοῦσσαι ''Pityûssai'' ("covered in pine trees").Numerous places were given names like ''Pityûssai'', ''Pityussa'', ''Pityusa'', or similar names by the Ancient Greek
especially in Anatolia and Greece
: the pre-Hellenic name of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

of the

Leleges The Leleges (; ) were an aboriginal people of the Aegean Sea, Aegean region, before the Greek people, Greeks arrived. They were distinct from another pre-Hellenic people of the region, the Pelasgians. The exact areas to which they were native are u ...

was also ''Pityussa'' (

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, 14.1.3); Spetses' ancient name was Pityoussa; during the Roman Civil Wars

Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

with some Cilician pirates effected a landing at an island of Pityussa on the North African coast of

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...

, and was driven off
Plutarch, ''Life of Sertorius'' 7
. From about 200 BCE, the islands were used as a base by Cilician pirates. They and a renegade Roman general,

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

, who had formed an alliance with the pirates, were driven out by a large Roman fleet, commanded by Caius Annius Luscus. The two largest of the islands, under the names ''Ebyssus'' (Ibiza) and ''Ophiusis'' (Formentera), were listed in

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...

's ''Geography'' (2nd century CE). Ptolemy noted that ''Ebyssus'' had a town by the same name.

Administration

The Pine Islands are sometimes grouped together as part of the

, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

(which together with their islets form the Gymnesian Islands). Politically, they are part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of the Balearic Islands. Initially, they were administratively part of the same insular council (of Ibiza and Formentera), but since 2007 they are now separated between the insular council of

and the insular council of Formentera (each one is also assimilated to a single comarca), which are two of the four main administrative subdivisions of the province (and autonomous community) of the Balearic Islands.

Gallery

File:Ibiza Bay 2005.jpg, Beach on

File:ForbysIbizaTown_03.jpg, Ibiza Town File:Platja de s'Alga.jpg, Beach on Formentera

Flags and coats of arms

File:Ibiza flag.svg, Flag of

File:Bandera de Formentera.svg, Flag of Formentera File:Official Emblem of Ibiza Island Council.svg, Emblem of the Island Council of Ibiza File:Escudo de San Antonio Abad (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of Sant Antoni de Portmany File:Escudo de San Juan Bautista (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of Sant Joan de Labritja File:Escudo de Santa Eulalia del Río (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of Santa Eulària des Riu File: Escut_d%27Eivissa.svg, Coat of arms of

External links

Islands of the Balearic Islands {{Balearics-geo-stub