The island is said to be home to
sirens and
sea-nymphs, who tried to lure
Odysseus from his ship in
Homer's
Odyssey. It is also thought of as the holy island of the
Tanit the
Phoenician lunar
goddess, worshiped as the
patron goddess and of fertility, who became Ibiza's patroness. Legend has it that specific sacrifices were made to Tanit during
full moons on the shore of the island.
The Giant of Es Vedrà Es Vedrà is also the setting for one of Ibiza's popular
fables ().
Es Gegant des Vedrà (
The Giant of Es Vedrà) is the tale about two brothers who, to cure their father of an incurable illness, had to go to Es Vedrà island to gather
rock samphire and face the huge giant who lived on the island, huddled in one of the island's many caves. The two brothers' ingenuity, along with the help of
sea urchins, managed to debilitate the giant, and thus collect the samphire for the cure.
Francis Palau y Quer The
Carmelite friar Francis Palau y Quer arrived on
Ibiza following his exile from
Barcelona in 1855. Needing solitude, he used to retire to Es Vedrà by rowing a boat, to pray there and seek God's will. Legend says that he spent a week
meditating surviving on nothing but
rainwater he collected from drips from the roof of a cave he used for shelter. Within hours, he began to witness a series of powerful visions. He later described them in a book, called
My Relations With the church {{Quote box |align=left |width=50% |quoted=yes |source=
My Relations with the Church He started to write
Mis Relaciones Con la Iglesia (
My Relations With the Church), a sort of autobiographical journal, partly written in the idyllic solitude of Es Vedrà, transmitting his experience of the Church conceived as God and neighbors. Fr. Francisco Palau, O.C.D. was beatified in Rome by
Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1988. His liturgical feast day is commemorated on November 7. == Es Vedrà in popular culture ==