---
title: Hesperides
author: Liana Miate
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Hesperides/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2023-02-28
---
# Hesperides
_Authored by [Liana Miate](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/lianamiate/)_
The Hesperides are [nymph](https://www.worldhistory.org/nymph/)-goddesses of the evening and the west in [Greek mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Mythology/). They were the daughters of [Atlas](https://www.worldhistory.org/Atlas/), the [Titan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Titan/) who bore the heavens on his shoulders, and Hesperis, the personification of the west, or [Nyx](https://www.worldhistory.org/Nyx/), the personification of the night. Other stories list their parents as Phorcys, a sea [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) and the sea monster Ceto.
The Hesperides were known for their lush garden and for guarding [Hera](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hera/)'s apple tree, which grew golden apples that granted immortality. According to most traditions, there were three to seven Hesperides, with their names changing, depending on the source. [Hesiod](https://www.worldhistory.org/hesiod/) (c. 700 BCE) names them Aegle ("Brightness"), Erytheia, and Hesperethusa ("Sunset Glow"), while Apollonius of [Rhodes](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rhodes/) (3rd century BCE) gives them the names Aegle, Erytheis ("Scarlet"), and Hespere. According to Apollodorus (180-120 BCE), they were called Aegle, Erythia, Hesperia, and Arethusa. Hesiod gives them the epithet "clear-voiced".
### Birth & Family
Sources, including Pseudo-Hyginus (c. 64 BCE to c. 17 CE) and [Diodorus Siculus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Diodorus_Siculus/) (1st century BCE), state that the Hesperides were daughters of the Titan Atlas and Hesperia, the personification of the west. However, other sources, including [Cicero](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cicero/) (106-43 BCE), Pseudo-Apollodorus, and Hesiod in his *[Theogony](https://www.worldhistory.org/Theogony/)*, state that they were the daughters of Nyx (the personification of the night).
> Again, although she slept with none of the gods,
> Dark Night gave birth to Blame and sad Distress,
> And the Hesperides, who, out beyond
> The famous stream of [Oceanus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Oceanus/), tend
> The lovely golden apples, and their trees.
> (Hesiod, *Theogony*, 214-218)
They are occasionally also named as the daughters of the sea god Phorcys and the sea monster Ceto.
### The Garden of the Hesperides
The Garden of the Hesperides was the sacred garden and orchard of the goddess Hera. It was believed to exist close to the Atlas Mountain range (northwestern [Africa](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/africa/)). However, Apollonius of Rhodes placed the gardens near Lake Triton in Libya, while the [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) geographer Strabo (63 BCE to 23 CE) believed it was located in [Tartessos](https://www.worldhistory.org/tartessos/) (southern Spain). Some legends state that the garden's location needed to be moved further out into the western ocean as its location became common knowledge.
According to Greek author Scylax of Caryanda (c. 6th century BCE), the garden was surrounded by a high [wall](https://www.worldhistory.org/wall/) on all sides and was filled with different kinds of fruit trees. During antiquity, the garden was famous as the springs of nectar flowed, and the earth grew the rarest gifts from the gods. The Garden of Hesperides is often compared to the [Garden of Eden](https://www.worldhistory.org/Garden_of_Eden/).
The Hesperides were just one of many Greek deities that the ancient Greeks believed controlled nature. The Hesperides were a way for them to understand the sunset. They pictured each night sky as a garden that was usually hidden from human eyes, except for brief periods at night.
[  The Goddess of Discord Choosing the Apple of Contention in the Garden of the Hesperides Joseph Mallord William Turner (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17113/the-goddess-of-discord-choosing-the-apple-of-conte/ "The Goddess of Discord Choosing the Apple of Contention in the Garden of the Hesperides")### The Golden Apples
The concept of immortal apples is a common idea shared by some ancient cultures, especially the ancient Greeks and the ancient Norse. At [Zeus](https://www.worldhistory.org/zeus/) and Hera's wedding, all the gods brought grand gifts. Mother Earth ([Gaia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gaia/)) gave her grandchildren the greatest gift of all: a golden tree with golden apples which granted immortality to anyone who possessed them (some sources state that the golden tree was a gift from Zeus). Zeus and Hera were elated by this gift, and the Hesperides were tasked with guarding the apples for Hera. These golden apples were reportedly what gave the Olympian gods their immortality. The Hesperides wandered through the garden and sang to the tree.
The most famous story involving the golden apples is the one of Hercules ([Herakles](https://www.worldhistory.org/hercules/)) and his twelve labours. After the legendary Greek hero Hercules had gone insane and killed his wife [Megara](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Megara/) and their children, he had gone searching for redemption. Hercules sought out the Oracle of [Delphi](https://www.worldhistory.org/delphi/), who advised him to travel to his cousin Eurystheus, the king of [Tiryns](https://www.worldhistory.org/tiryns/) and offer his services to him.
Hera, who resented Hercules, persuaded Eurystheus to set Hercules a series of dangerous and challenging tasks, and so began the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Hercules' eleventh labour was to retrieve the golden apples. The location of the Garden of the Hesperides was so well hidden that Hercules had to ask Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, where it was located. After Hercules set [Prometheus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Prometheus/) free, he offered to help Hercules in his quest for the apples. In one version of the myth, he suggested that Hercules get Atlas to retrieve the apples for him while he held the heavens up. Atlas fetched three apples from the Hesperides but was reluctant to return to his duty. So Hercules tricked him by asking him to hold the heavens while he found something to help ease the burden.
[  The Twelve Labours of Herakles Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17052/the-twelve-labours-of-herakles/ "The Twelve Labours of Herakles")Another version of the story has Hercules facing and defeating Ladon, a fierce serpent belonging to Hera who had coiled himself around the golden tree. Ladon had replaced the Hesperides in guarding the tree, as the Hesperides had been unable to resist temptation and had picked and eaten the golden apples themselves. The apples were later fetched from Eurystheus and returned to the Hesperides by the kind [Athena](https://www.worldhistory.org/athena/) who felt sorry for them. Some sources state that after Hercules had completed his twelve labours, his horn was filled with golden fruit from the Hesperides and called the cornucopia (horn of plenty).
[Eris](https://www.worldhistory.org/Eris/), the goddess of discord and strife, was said to have retrieved her infamous Golden Apple of Discord from the Garden of the Hesperides. This apple was later used to stir up trouble at the wedding of King Peleus of Phthia and the sea nymph [Thetis](https://www.worldhistory.org/Thetis/) and was the catalyst for the events that led to the [Trojan War](https://www.worldhistory.org/Trojan_War/).
[  Herakles in the Hesperides Garden Bibi Saint-Pol (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17110/herakles-in-the-hesperides-garden/ "Herakles in the Hesperides Garden")The huntress [Atalanta](https://www.worldhistory.org/Atalanta/) was involved in another myth featuring three golden apples. Atalanta refused to marry anyone she could outrun in a foot race. However, a suitor named Melanion was determined to marry Atalanta. So he was given three golden apples by [Aphrodite](https://www.worldhistory.org/Aphrodite/). During the race, he threw one of the apples ahead of Atalanta, and she stopped running to take a closer look, not being able to resist the beauty of the golden apple. He repeated the same action with the second and third apples and eventually won the race and Atalanta's hand in marriage.
### The Hesperides & the Argonauts
In Book 4 of the *Argonautica* by Apollonius of Rhodes, the Greek hero [Jason and the Argonauts](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/425/jason--the-argonauts/) are assisted in their quest to find the [golden fleece](https://www.worldhistory.org/Golden_Fleece/) by a strong cast of female figures, including the Hesperides. Jason and the Argonauts carried the Argo on their shoulders for twelve days and nights through the deserts of Libya. As they entered Lake Triton, they finally placed the ship down and rushed around in a mad thirst, trying to find a spring to drink from.
They reached the lovely garden of the Hesperides, where the Hesperides used to sing as they guarded the apples. There they found the serpent Ladon lying dead from Hercules' attack. The Hesperides lamented his [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/) loudly, but as soon as the Argonauts approached, they went silent and vanished in a cloud of dust and earth. [Orpheus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Orpheus/), the gifted bard travelling with Jason and the Argonauts, invoked the Hesperides to win their favour.
> O beautiful and kindly divinities, be gracious, powerful ones,
> whether you are counted among the goddesses of heaven or of the
> Underworld, or are called shepherd nymphs. Come, nymphs, sacred
> offspring of Ocean, in answer to our need show yourselves clearly
> to us, goddesses, and reveal some source of water in a rock or some
> holy spring bubbling up from the earth, with which we may douse
> the ceaseless fire of our thirst. If ever we sail back safe to the Achaian
> land, then among the foremost goddesses we shall offer you in
> gratitude countless gifts of libations and feasts.
> (Apollonius of Rhodes, *Jason and the Golden Fleece* (*Argonautica*), 4.1411-1420).
The Hesperides felt sorry for the tired and thirsty men and sent up trees from the ground. Hespere transformed into a poplar, Erytheis into an elm, and Aegle became the sacred trunk of a willow. They then transformed back into their usual appearance. Aegle told the men about Hercules' visit to their garden and his desperate thirst. She informed them that he had found a rock near Lake Triton, which he kicked, and caused a great stream of water to stream forth. After she had finished speaking, she pointed out the direction of this stream, and the Argonauts ran off in joy to find it and end their thirst.
[  Garden of Hesperides Albert Herter (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17111/garden-of-hesperides/ "Garden of Hesperides")### The Hesperides & [Perseus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Perseus/)
In his quest to kill the Gorgon [Medusa](https://www.worldhistory.org/Medusa/), the Greek hero Perseus sought the help of the Graeae (three elderly sisters who shared one eye and one tooth between them). He refused to give back their tooth and eye until they had given him valuable information. They told him to find the Garden of Hesperides, where he would find out where Medusa was located. Perseus travelled to the Garden of Hesperides, but the Hesperides refused to tell him the location of Medusa and instead instructed Perseus to ask Atlas.
Atlas ordered one of the Hesperides to go down to the underworld and retrieve the helmet of [Hades](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hades/), which would protect Perseus from Medusa's deadly stare. The Hesperides sent Perseus off with a mournful goodbye. After he had killed Medusa, Perseus returned to the Garden of the Hesperides, and the sisters were overjoyed to see that he was still alive.
[  Perseus & Medusa by Cellini Jastrow (CC BY-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1329/perseus--medusa-by-cellini/ "Perseus & Medusa by Cellini")###
Worship
In his *Description of [Greece](https://www.worldhistory.org/greece/)*, [Pausanias](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Pausanias/) (c. 115 to c. 180 CE) mentions that at the [Temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) of Zeus at [Olympia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Olympia/), there were screens to keep the public away from Zeus' throne, and on these screens were paintings by Panaenus, brother of the famous Greek sculptor, [Phidias](https://www.worldhistory.org/Phidias/). One of these paintings depicted two of the Hesperides holding apples. The Hesperides were removed from a treasury by the people of Olympia and moved to the Temple of Hera.
#### Editorial Review
This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).
## Bibliography
- [Albis, Robert V. *Poet and Audience in the Argonautica of Apollonius.* Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1996.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/084768315X/)
- [Apollonius of Rhodes & Hunter, Richard. *Jason and the Golden Fleece.* Oxford University Press, 2009.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199538727/)
- [Bane, Theresa. *Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places.* McFarland & Company, 2014.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0786478489/)
- [Bane, Theresa. *Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects.* McFarland, 2020.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1476676887/)
- [Graves, Robert. *The Greek Myths\[May 15, 2018\] Graves, Robert.* Viking, 2018.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0241982359/)
- [Hard, Robin. *The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology.* Routledge, 2019.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B07T3GC7LK/)
- [Hesiod & Theognis & Wender, Dorothea & Wender, Dorothea. *Hesiod and Theognis .* Penguin Classics, 1976.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0140442839/)
- Ilaria Andolfi. *Acusilaus of Argos’ Rhapsody in Prose Introduction, Text, and Commentary.* De Gruyter, 2019
- [Klapp, William Henry 1849-1924 & Murray, A. S. (Alexander Stuart) 1841-1. *Manual of Mythology. Greek and Roman, Norse and Old German, Hindoo and Egyptian..* Wentworth Press, 2016.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1371557659/)
- [kurylo, diego. *The Sacred Tree.* Sophia Lux, 2020.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B088DQHXKQ/)
- [Lang, Jean. *A Book of Myths .* Forgotten Books, 2018.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0266964788/)
- [Marshall Cavendish Corporation. *Heroes and Heroines of Greece and Rome.* Cavendish Square, 2011.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/076147952X/)
- [Pausanias & Newberry, John & Levi, Peter & Levi, Peter. *Guide to Greece, Vol. 2.* Penguin Classics, 1984.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/014044226X/)
- [Powell, Barry B. *Classical Myth.* Pearson, 1970.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0132461854/)
## About the Author
Liana is the Social Media Editor for Ancient History Encyclopedia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in ancient Greece, Rome & Late Antiquity. She is particularly passionate about Rome and Greece, and anything to do with mythology or wo
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lian)
## Questions & Answers
### Who are the three Hesperides?
The three Hesperides were the goddesses of the evening and the west. There were two to seven named in Greek mythology.
### What did the Hesperides do?
The Hesperides resided in the Garden of Hesperides and guarded Hera's tree, which grew golden apples that granted immortality.
### How did Hercules steal the apples of the Hesperides?
In one tradition, Hercules held up the heavens, while Atlas killed the serpent Ladon for him. In other sources, Hercules killed the serpent himself.
### What were the Hesperides also known as?
The Hesperides were also known as "daughters of the evening" or "nymphs of the west."
## Cite This Work
### APA
Miate, L. (2023, February 28). Hesperides. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Miate, Liana. "Hesperides." *World History Encyclopedia*, February 28, 2023. .
### MLA
Miate, Liana. "Hesperides." *World History Encyclopedia*, 28 Feb 2023, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [Liana Miate](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/lianamiate/ "User Page: Liana Miate"), published on 28 February 2023. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.