The Rock of Gibraltar is the name given to the promontory rock formation that overlooks the landscape on the strait of Gibraltar on the southwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
Currently owned by the UK Crown as a British overseas territory (to the chagrin of most Spaniards), the Rock of Gibraltar is mostly known these days for the troop of macaques that explore the labyrinth of tunnels with the tourists.
In antiquity, the Rock of Gibraltar was one of the Pillars of Hercules. In the Greek myth of the twelve labors of Hercules, the tenth labor was to fetch the Cattle of Geryon of the far West and bring them to Eurystheus. The Rock of Gibraltar represents the westernmost point of that labor. Jebel Musa, across the Strait of Gibraltar, serves as the North African Pillar of Hercules.
