3. Next to the heat of the fire, my
grandmother was telling me some
old stories. They were romantic
and terrible legends filled with
heroes, monsters, nymphs, goblins
and princesses…Some of them
conjured up the origins of this
land, such as the story of Princess
Pyrene…

5.  When this was an extensive flat plain,
full of forests and meadows, Noe sent
his grandson Tubal to settle there and
govern it. For a long time, he looked
after its people in true peace and
harmony.
 His daughter, Princess Pyrene, was his
most precious treasure and her
sweetness and beauty dazed all those
who knew her.

8.  In the sunny spring evenings, Pyrene
would walk aling the lakeside singing
softly. Then, she would sit down on the
shore and brush her beatiful hair using
the crystalline waters like a mirror.
 She felt protected in this place,
surrounded by forests. It was her world.
Howeve, someone was watching her,
crouched among the ferns...

10.  Pyrene was still unaware of the terrible
events that were happening throughout
the whole kingdom. A gigantic and
monstrous being, with three horrible
heads, had settled in the lands beyond
the forest. His name was Gerion and he
terrified the shepherds, demanding
that they should give him their cattle in
exchange for their lives. What’s more,
he stalked their daughters…

12.  However, the real aim of this cruel
creature was to seduce Pyrene who he
continued to spy on with great secrecy
while she was carrying out her daily
rituals near the lake. He had fallen
madly in love and nothing would stop
him from trying to conquer her

14.  Unaware of the danger his daughter was
running, King Tubal was desperately
trying to protect his subjects from
Gerion’s incursions, which were
increasingly more frequent and
malevolent. However, he could not find a
way of stopping him.
 Seized with despair, the sovereign
implored the gods for help. Vey soon the
gods would send their response…

16.  Given the chaos that Gerion was
causing and Tubal’s clamorous
petitions, the powerful Zeus resorted to
the strongest of all his men: his son
Hercules.
 The god of all gods sent him to wipe
out the giant. By doing this, he would
achieve a double objective.

18.  Hercules set out to these lands. He
wanted to please the gods and put an end
to Gerion’s outrages as soon as possible.
When he reached Tubal’s palace,
Hercules caught a glimpse of the most
beautiful and delicate girl he had ever
seen.
 He would forever be in a spell of love for
Pyrene’s beautiful locks of red-hair. Their
eyes crossed and something sparked off
between them both.

20.  Hercules and Pyrenne did not conceal
their deep love. They walked through
the forests, plethoric of the lakes and
springs, holding each other’s hands.
 Meanwhile, Gerion, who had not lost
sight of them for even one moment,
appeared at Tubal’s palace, in a fit of
jealousy. To everyone’s surprise, he
asked the sovereign for his daughter’s
hand.

22.  The sovereign had no alternative. On
the return from her walk, Pyrene was
surprised to find the malevolent being
waiting to take her away with him.
 Without any hesitation, she went up to
the three-headed ugly monster and, in
order to clarify that she would never
belong to him, three times she refused
to accompany him

23.  The princess, who knew all the secret
passages in her home, fled through one
of them and took shelter in its forest.
She waited for the courageous Hercules
to rescue her.

25.  Full of fury, Gerion left the palace to
find her. Screaming and swearing, he
devastated everything he encountered.
 He called out Pyrene’s name repeatedly,
threatening that he would force her to
come out of the forest.
 As he did not achieve his objective, the
perverse giant did not hesitate to set
fire to the trees. Soon, a huge cloud of
smoke engulfed the plain.

27.  Alerted about what was happening,
Hercules came to help his dear nymph.
 He faced Gerion’s cowardice in a death
combat with such impetus that, one by
one, he cut off his three heads.
 He put the fire out afterwards and ran
in search of Pyrene.

29.  The strong and courageous Hercules
tracked the completely burnt forest in
order to free her.
 He called her repeatedly, with the most
distressed words. But, oh no… Nobody
replied.
 Suddenly, in a forest clearing, he found
her in agony. In a whisper, the young
woman repeated her love and then gave
her final sigh.

32.  Hercules, who was desolate, took his
beloved in his arms and swore he
would create the most beautiful tomb
so Pyrene would never be forgotten.
 He put her lifeless body on the ground
and, then, by putting huge rocks one by
one, he built the most beautiful
mountain range ever known. In
memory of his beloved, he called it the
Pyrenees.

34.  The hero, depressed and sad, could not
contain his tears. While placing an
everlasting white mantle of snow on
top of the mountains, the tears from
his eyes fell onto the ground and were
so abundant that they formed
crystalline lakes that remain intact
even today.