The Apples of the Hesperides
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Eurystheus demanded two more labors from
the hero, since he did not count the hydra or the
Augean stables as properly done.
Eurystheus commanded Hercules to bring him golden
apples which belonged to Zeus, king of the gods. Hera
had given these apples to Zeus as a wedding gift, so
surely this task was impossible. Hera, who didn’t
want to see Hercules succeed, would never permit
him to steal one of her prize possessions, would she?
These apples were kept in a garden at the northern
edge of the world, and they were guarded not only by
a hundred-headed dragon, named Ladon, but also by
the Hesperides, nymphs who were daughters of Atlas,
the titan who held the sky and the earth upon his
shoulders.
Hercules’ first problem was that he didn’t know where
the garden was. He journeyed through Libya, Egypt,
Arabia, and Asia, having adventures along the way.
He was stopped by Kyknos, the son of the war god,
Ares, who demanded that Hercules fight him. After
the fight was broken up by a thunderbolt, Hercules
continued on to Illyria, where he seized the sea-god
Nereus, who knew the garden’s secret location.
Nereus transformed himself into all kinds of
shapes,trying to escape, but Hercules held tight and
didn’t release Nereus until he got the information he
needed.
Continuing on his quest, Hercules was stopped by
Antaeus, the son of the sea god, Poseidon, who also
challenged Hercules to fight. Hercules defeated him in
a wrestling match, lifting him off the ground and
crushing him, because when Antaeus touched the earth
he became stronger. After that, Hercules met up with
Busiris, another of Poseidon’s sons, was captured,
and was led to an altar to be a human sacrifice. But
Hercules escaped, killing Busiris, and journeyed on.
Hercules came to the rock on Mount Caucasus where
Prometheus was chained. Prometheus, a trickster who
made fun of the gods and stole the secret of fire from
them, was sentenced by Zeus to a horrible fate. He
was bound to the mountain, and every day a monstrous
eagle came and ate his liver, pecking away at
Prometheus’ tortured body. After the eagle flew off,
Prometheus’ liver grew back, and the next day he had
to endure the eagle’s painful visit all over again. This
went on for 30 years, until Hercules showed up and
killed the eagle.
In gratitude, Prometheus told Hercules the secret to
getting the apples. He would have to send Atlas after
them, instead of going himself. Atlas hated holding up
the sky and the earth so much that he would agree to
the task of fetching the apples, in order to pass his
burden over to Hercules. Everything happened as
Prometheus had predicted, and Atlas went to get the
apples while Hercules was stuck in Atlas’s place,
with the weight of the world literally on his
shoulders.
When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told
Hercules he would take them to Eurystheus himself,
and asked Hercules to stay there and hold the heavy
load for the rest of time. Hercules slyly agreed, but
asked Atlas whether he could take it back again, just
for a moment, while the hero put some soft padding on
his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky
and the earth. Atlas put the apples on the ground, and
lifted the burden onto his own shoulders. And so
Hercules picked up the apples and quickly ran off,
carrying them back, uneventfully, to Eurystheus.
There was one final problem: because they belonged
to the gods, the apples could not remain with
Eurystheus. After all the trouble Hercules went
through to get them, he had to return them to Athena,
who took them back to the garden at the northern edge
of the world.