Describe a location in your world that is brimming with diverse or bizarre flora and fauna.

— Location

Garden of the Hesperides

The Garden of Hesperides, generally regarded as the most beautiful spot on earth, is the private reserve of the Olympic goddess Hera. Helios ends his daily flightgs in the garden to renew the glow of his Sun-Chariot, but few others, and not even Zeus, have ever been allowed to visit.

History

On the occasion of Hera's marriage to Zeus, Gaia herself created the garden from all the best parts of herself. Every kind of plant, every species of animal, and every biome is represented and arranged as a feast for the eyes. Some plants and animals in the garden appear nowhere else.
Ownership and control of the garden was presented to Hera as a wedding present, and she has maintained it ever since.

Location

The Garden is located in the far west, at the edge of the all-encircling Ocean, near the mountains where the titan Atlas stands and holds up the sky. Access by land or sea is treacherous, and impossible for all but the most heroic of mortals.

Caretakers

Three Nymphs of Evening, Aigle, Erytheis, and Hespere, have been charged by Hera with tending all of her rare plants and animals, including the centerpiece of the garden, its tree of golden apples. The three nymphs are sometimes called the Atlantides after their father, Atlas.

"Garden of Hesperides" (c. 1898) by Albert Herter (1871 – 1950)

The garden and its tenders are guarded by a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon.

The Golden Apple of Discord

The golden apple that Eris used to kick-start the Trojan War was taken from the Garden of the Hesperides. Why did Hera contend so hard for this one particular apple when she already owned the tree? Perhaps it was an attempt to recover her lost property, or to prevent the seeds from being used to plant a rival tree, but the most common explanation was that this apple, of all the apples, was inscribed "to the fairest" and was awarded by a judge.
The golden apple, like an Academy Award or Super Bowl ring, is inherently less valuable than the bragging rights of having earned it.

On This Page:

Elsewhere:

---

Mythology

Greek/Roman

Read the Manuscript

Poetry! (Mythic Verse, Vol. 1)

READ