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The Pyrenees (; (スペイン語:Pirineos) (:piɾiˈneos), (フランス語:Pyrénées) (:piʁene), (アラゴン語:Pirineus), (カタルーニャ語、バレンシア語:Pirineus), (オック語:Pirenèus), (バスク語:Pirinioak) or ) is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. It separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extends for about from the Bay of Biscay (Cap Higuer) to the Mediterranean Sea (Cap de Creus). For the most part, the main crest forms a massive divider between France and Spain, with the small country of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the mountain range, with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain.〔Preamble of the ("Charter of the Catalan Language" )〕 The demonym for the noun "Pyrenees" in English is ''Pyrenean''. ==Etymology== In classical mythology, Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celtic Europe.〔Herodotus, ''Histories'' (2.33. )〕 According to Silius Italicus,〔Silius Italicus, ''Punica'' 3.415–441.〕 she was the virginal daughter of Bebryx, a king in Mediterranean Gaul by whom the hero Hercules was given hospitality during his quest to steal the cattle of Geryon〔Although Geryon was usually located in the mythical west of the setting sun, he was also associated with Iberia; according to Strabo, his triple-body was preserved at Cadiz in the form of a tree.〕 during his famous Labors. Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his host's daughter. Pyrene gives birth to a serpent and runs away to the woods, afraid that her father will be angry. Alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention instead of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, finding the girl's lacerated remains. As is often the case in stories of this hero, the sober Hercules responds with heartbroken grief and remorse at the actions of his darker self, and lays Pyrene to rest tenderly, demanding that the surrounding geography join in mourning and preserve her name:〔Ben Tipping, ''Exemplary Epic: Silius Italicus' Punica'' (Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 20–21 (online. )〕 "struck by Herculean voice, the mountaintops shudder at the ridges; he kept crying out with a sorrowful noise 'Pyrene!' and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back 'Pyrene!' … The mountains hold on to the wept-over name through the ages." Pliny the Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania, but rejects it as ''fabulosa'', highly fictional.〔Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'' (3.3. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pyrenees」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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