Pillars of Hercules
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The Pillars of Hercules are the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar. A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of the southern Pillar, Abila Mons, has been disputed throughout history, with the two most likely candidates being Monte Hacho in Ceuta and Jebel Musa in Morocco. The term was applied in antiquity: Pliny the Elder included the Pillars of Hercules in his Naturalis historia.
The European Pillar of Hercules: the Rock of Gibraltar (foreground), with the North African shore and Jebel Musa in the background.
Jebel Musa, one of the candidates for the North African Pillar of Hercules, as seen from Tarifa, at the other shore of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Jebel Musa and the Rock of Gibraltar seen from the Mediterranean Sea.
The title page of Sir Francis Bacon's Instauratio Magna, 1620
Ceuta
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Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast.
Image: Vista de Ceuta y la península de Almina desde el mirador de Isabel II
Image: Ceuta fortifications
Image: Fachada del ayuntamiento (parte antigua)
Phoenician archeological site, dated to the 7th century BC, next to the Cathedral of Ceuta