He was stopped by Kyknos, the son of the war god, Ares, who demanded that Hercules fight him. He journeyed through Libya, Egypt, Arabia, and Asia, having adventures along the way. Hercules' first problem was that he didn't know where the garden was. Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London London E 224, Attic red figure hydria, ca. Here the apples are on a tree, and the dragon Ladon looks more like a single-headed serpent. 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. Hera, who didn't want to see Hercules succeed, would never permit him to steal one of her prize possessions, would she? Hera had given these apples to Zeus as a wedding gift, so surely this task was impossible. Eurystheus demanded two more labors from the hero, since he did not count the hydra or the Augean stables as properly done.Įurystheus commanded Hercules to bring him golden apples which belonged to Zeus, king of the gods. Poor Hercules! After eight years and one month, after performing ten superhuman labors, he was still not off the hook. Hercules' Eleventh Labor: the Apples of the Hesperides
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