{{Short description|Collective name of Mallorca and Menorca}} [[File:Map - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - OTM- HB-KZL 32.25.35.tif|thumb|Latin map of the Balearic Islands, with the eastern islands named {{Lang|la|Gymnesiæ}}.]] thumb|Gymnesian Islands (in dark grey) The '''Gymnesians''' ({{langx|ca|'''Gimnèsies'''}} {{IPA|ca-ES-IB|ʒimˈnɛziəs|}}, {{langx|es|'''Gimnesias'''}} {{IPA|es|ximˈnesjas|}}), or '''Gymnesic Islands''' ({{langx|ca|Illes Gimnèsiques|link=no}}),<ref>[http://www.ajmao.org/Contingut.aspx?IdPub=1837 Ajuntament de Maó]</ref> is a collective name given to the two largest (and easternmost) Balearic Islands, Mallorca and Menorca, distinguishing them from the Pityuses ({{langx|ca|Illes Pitiüses|link=no}}; {{langx|es|Pitiusas|link=no}}), or Pine Islands, Ibiza and Formentera.
== Etymology == The word ''Gymnesian'' (from the {{langx|el|γυμνήτες}} ''{{Transliteration|el|gymnetes}}'') means 'naked'. The Greeks called the islands Gymnesiae ({{langx|grc|Γυμνήσιαι}}). According to Diodorus Siculus, the Greeks called the islands thus because the inhabitants were naked during the summer time.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.17 Diodorus Siculus, Library, §5.17.1]</ref> 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 {{Lang|la|Insulae Baliares}} or {{Lang|la|Baleares Insulae}}; the collective concept has continued in use in modern languages, hence ultimately the English name ''Balearic Islands''.
== References == {{reflist}} * Strabo ''Geography'' Book III, Chapter 2 * Belenguer, E. ''Història de les illes Balears''. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2004. 525 p. {{ISBN|84-297-5506-3}} (volume I)
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Category:Islands of the Balearic Islands
{{Balearics-geo-stub}}