Pityusic Islands

The Pityusic Islands,[1][2] often referenced simply as the Pityuses (Catalan: Pitiüses [pitiˈuzəs], Spanish: Pitiusas; from the Greek πιτύα pitýa, pine tree), or commonly but informally (and ambiguously) as the Pine Islands, is the name given collectively to the Balearic Islands of Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa), Formentera, S'Espalmador and other small islets in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pityusic Islands
Pitiüses
Islas Pitiusas • Illes Pitiüses
EtymologyGreek: Πιτυοῦσσαι, romanized: Pityûssai, lit. 'pine-covered' (islands)
Geography
LocationMediterranean Sea
Coordinates
ArchipelagoBalearic Islands
Area655.8 km2 (253.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation476 m (1562 ft)
Highest pointTalaia, Ibiza
Administration
Spain
Autonomous CommunityBalearic Islands
ProvinceBalearic Islands
Largest settlementIbiza (pop. 49,783)
Demographics
Population160,025 (1 January 2019)
Pop. density244.0/km2 (632/sq mi)

Geography

The islands are situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of the island of Majorca, and approximately 80 km (50 mi) east of the Cap de la Nau in the Iberian Peninsula.

History

The first known name of the islands was the Ancient Greek geonym Πιτυοῦσσαι Pityûssai ("covered in pine trees").[3]

From about 200 BCE, the islands were used as a base by Cilician pirates. They and a renegade Roman general, Quintus Sertorius, 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'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 Balearic Islands, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being Mallorca and Menorca (which together with their islets form the Gymnesian Islands). Politically, they are part of the autonomous community 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 Ibiza 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.

Flags and coats of arms

See also

Further reading
  • Kuhbier, Heinrich; Alcover, Josep Antoni; Guerau d'Arellano Tur, Cristòfol, eds. (1984). Biogeography and Ecology of the Pityusic Islands. Monographiae Biologicae, Volume 52. The Hague, The Netherlands: Dr. W. Junk (Kluwer). ISBN 978-90-6193-105-8.
  1. (in Spanish) Lagartija de las Pitiusas - Podarcis pityusensis (Boscá, 1883), Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados españoles, Alfredo Salvador, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Natural (CSIC), Madrid, published 20-06-2006.
  2. A new species of rail (Aves, Rallidae) from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene of Ibiza (Pitiusic Island, Western Mediterranean), McMinn M., Palmer M. & Alcocer J.A., Ibis journal (ISSN 0019-1019), volume 147, pp. 706-716, published 2005. Referenced by the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA).
  3. Numerous places were given names like Pityûssai, Pityussa, Pityusa, or similar names by the Ancient Greeks,especially in Anatolia and Greece Archived 2009-08-30 at the Wayback Machine: the pre-Hellenic name of Miletus of the Leleges was also Pityussa (Strabo, 14.1.3); Spetses' ancient name was Pityoussa; during the Roman Civil Wars Sertorius with some Cilician pirates effected a landing at an island of Pityussa on the North African coast of Mauretania, and was driven off (Plutarch, Life of Sertorius 7).
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