Heracles – The Garden of the Hesperides though is most famous for appearing in the adventures of Heracles, and most notably the Eleventh Labour. Athena and Hermes were aiding his quest, and so it could be assumed that they accompanied the hero into the garden, to give him access to their own property. Perseus – Another visitor to the Garden of the Hesperides was said to be Perseus, although it is generally said he came not for apples, but for the weapons needed in his quest. Eris, as a goddess, would know the location of the garden, and no details are given about how she actually took an apple without the guardians stopping her. This argument would be one of the starting points for the Trojan War. The Hesperides - Albert Herter, 1898 - PD-life-70Įntering the Garden of the Hesperides was no easy task, and there are only three famous tales of those who managed to gain access.Įris – Eris, the goddess of Discord, was said to have entered and taken a golden apple, an apple that would start an argument amongst the goddesses about who was the most beautiful. There were plenty of other locations given for the Hesperides though, including further out into the realm of Oceanus. This location also allowed other names to be linked to the Hesperides, including the “African Sisters”. The general location for the Garden of Hera was thought to be in the Western Mediterranean, in the region of Mount Olympus. The location of the Garden of the HesperidesĪny potential thief would first have to locate the garden of the Hesperides, and the precise location was a well-guarded secret, known only to the various deities. The Garden of Hera was considered so secure that other gods also placed valuable items in the garden, including powerful weapons. The fruit would be tempting prizes for any thief, and so Hera also placed Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon that never slept, in the garden with the Hesperides. From these original apples grew the ‘Trees of the Golden Apples’, and their fruit were the apples of immortality. The garden was sacred to the goddess, and the orchard within it, was grown from the apples presented to Zeus and Hera by Gaia on their wedding day. The Hesperides were given a specific role to play in Greek mythology, because the sisters were the guardians and the tenders of the Garden of Hera, also known as the Garden of the Hesperides. The Hesperides were said to be goddesses of the evening, and were particularly associated with the sunset. The Garden of the Hesperides - Ricciardo Meacci (Italy, 1856 - 1900) - PD-art-100 In one possible ancient source, Hesiod would name the three sisters as Aigle, Erytheis and Hesperethoosa, but other sources would name Arethousa, Hesperie, Aerika, Asterope, Chrysothemis and Lipara as Hesperides. At other times four or seven sisters might be counted. There are generally considered to be three Hesperides three being the common figure amongst groupings of sisters like the Moirai or Graeae. Hyginus would add a father, Erebus, alongside Nyx, whilst Virgil would name Zeus and Themis as parents.įamously, Diodorus of Sicily, would name the Titan Atlas, along with Hesperus (the northern star), as parents to the Hesperides.Īs well as confusing parentage, there is no real consensus about how many and who the Hesperides were. Hesiod is normally considered to be the first point to look when it comes to the genealogy of the gods, and in the Theogony, Hesiod names Nyx (night) as mother alone to the sisters. The genealogy of the Hesperides is one of the most confusing in Greek mythology, and almost every ancient writer who spoke on the matter, told of different parentage. In the stories of Ancient Greece there were said to be thousands of immortals, including the female nymphs, the Hesperides. There was though a wider world in which heroes and gods lived, and it was a world inhabited by man, mythical creatures, monsters and other immortal figures. Most people think of Greek mythology simply in terms of heroes and Olympian gods.
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