Far away in the west was a beautiful land that belonged to King Hesperus. This king had three lovely daughters who cared for the fruits and flowers of the gardens. In the gardens were many graceful trees whose boughs bent under the weight of delicious fruit. Flowers red, yellow, and orange adorned the walks.

When Juno, goddess of the sky, married Jupiter, her sister Ceres gave her a handsome present. Ceres is the earth goddess who cultivates the fruits, flowers, and grains, and the best gift she could bestow upon her sister was some golden apples.

Juno prized these apples highly, and gave them to the Hesperides, the daughters of Hesperus. They placed them upon the shadiest tree of the garden, and watched and cared for them very carefully.

Once they were taken away by Hercules, the strong hero who performed many wonderful labors, but they were afterwards restored to the careful hands of the maidens.

Many heroes heard of the beautiful land, Hesperia, and of the wonderful apples growing there, and sailed westward to find them. Some people think that the golden apples were really the oranges of Spain, a rich and famous country west of Greece.