Pillars of Hercules

American  

plural noun

1. the two promontories on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe and the Jebel Musa in Africa; fabled to have been raised by Hercules.

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Pillars of Hercules British  

plural noun

1. the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules

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Example Sentences

Ceuta, perched on an isthmus with a promontory historically considered the lesser of the Pillars of Hercules of antiquity, has been a Spanish possession since 1580.

From Seattle Times

“In the old days,” Annabeth said, “they called this area the Pillars of Hercules. The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one.”

From Literature

The Rock of Gibraltar is part of Plato’s most tantalizing clue: that Atlantis was an island that once sat “in front of the mouth” of the Pillars of Hercules.

From New York Times

Ignoring the warnings of the ancient Phoenicians, I sailed past the legendary Pillars of Hercules, the mountains that flank the Strait of Gibraltar, and didn’t fall off the edge of the world.

From Washington Post

In April, two long-lost panels from Meière’s 1960 marble mosaic triptych, “The Pillars of Hercules,” originally commissioned for the Prudential Plaza in Newark, were formally installed at the Center of Hellenic Studies in Washington.

From New York Times