The precise location of the Hesperides has never been determined. In addition, it is the name for the planet Venus as it appears in the nighttime sky, also known as the evening star.

The name Hesperides – and the name of their father in some of the myths, Hesperus – is derived from the Latin word hesperos, meaning evening. However, despite the other ambiguities, it is generally agreed that they were beautiful and had wonderful sweet voices. Most sources say there were between four and seven nymphs that stayed in the garden of Hesperides. Thus, the Hesperides and their golden apples were at the heart of the Trojan War.There is an ongoing debate as to the parentage of the Hesperides, as well as exactly how many there were. Since Helen of Sparta was the most beautiful woman on earth, Paris took her with Aphrodite’s blessing and the war of Troy commenced. After Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman on earth as a gift if he chose her, the prince selected her as the winner. Since he did not want to intervene, Zeus appointed Prince Paris of Troy to be the judge of the contest. Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera began fighting about it and requested Zeus to choose a winner. She said that the fruit was for the most beautiful or the fairest goddess. Eris brought with her a golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides. At the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Eris, the goddess of discord, showed up to cause problems after the other gods did not invite her to the wedding. One of the events that led to the Trojan War was the judgment of Paris which began because of a golden apple taken from the Hesperides. There are also depictions of Heracles dining with the Hesperides and convincing them to give him the golden apple. In other accounts, Heracles went there and killed the dragon Ladon to take the golden apple. In some stories, Heracles took the titan’s place under the sky while Atlas went to the garden of the Hesperides to fetch the fruit for him. Atlas instructed him on the location of the garden. Heracles found Atlas holding the skies and asked him for help in finding the garden. The myths vary considerably as to how he did this feat. The Hesperides and HeraclesĪs one of his 12 Labors, Heracles had to steal a golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides. Perseus received the help of the gods, and after the Hesperides gave him their godly tools, he was able to kill Medusa.

The nymphs gave him Hades’ invisibility helmet, Athena’s shield, and Hermes’ winged sandals. The great Greek hero Perseus visited the garden, and the Hesperides gave him several items to help the hero in one of his feats. For this, heroes and kings coveted the apples of the Hesperides. In some accounts, the apples would give immortality to anyone who ate one. The apples were responsible for the beautiful color of the sunsets.

Those who wanted to steal an apple first had to discover its location and then manage to go past the dragon and the Hesperides. The myths never revealed the exact location of the garden for its protection but there are several stories involving this place and the apples. This precious content was also one of the reasons why the Hesperides were not the only guardians. In some myths, the garden had more than just the tree of the golden apples since it was the place in which the gods kept many of their exceptional articles. Due to this, people believe that the garden first existed in Arcadia, where there is a river called Ladon. Hera decided to also put the dragon Ladon, the offspring of the sea monsters Phorcys and Ceto, as the guardian of the golden apples. The tree was placed in the garden of the Hesperides for the nymphs to guard. Gaia, the goddess of the earth, gave Hera a tree of golden apples as a wedding gift when she married Zeus, the god of thunder. Most of the paintings of the Hesperides show them as beautiful maidens in a teeming garden in some cases, the guardian Dragon Ladon is also present. This place was either in northern Africa or Arcadia. The nymphs dwelt in the garden of the Hesperides, the place in which the tree of the golden apples grew. In other stories, it was Nyx alone who gave birth to the Hesperides. In some myths, they were the daughters of Erebus, the god of the darkness, and Nyx, the primordial deity of the night. The three nymphs were Aegle, Erytheia, and Hesperia, and they were the nymphs of the evenings, sunset, and sunset light. However, there are three in their most famous depictions and most artworks. Who Were the Hesperides?ĭepending on the myths, the number and name of the Hesperides vary.

Known as the Daughters of the Evening, the Hesperides played a minor but important role in Greek myth. The Hesperides were the nymphs of the evening, and they were also the protectors of the famous golden apples. In Greek mythology, there were several groups of nymphs in charge of different parts of the world and its nature.

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