The Garden of Hesperides’ from Greek Mythology bares some strong resemblance to the story of the Garden of Eden, in addition to the similarities there are also some parallels to the story as well, but there can be found a clear link between the story, that go beyond simple coincidence.
The Garden of Hesperide’s is the orchard of the goddess Hera, and is a very idyllic place of great beauty. It was located in a place beyond the mortal world, and was meant to be inaccessible It was from this garden which the gods got their immortality. The prized position of the garden was none else than golden apples. The gardens were inhabited by nymphs known as the Hesperides, and the apple was guarded by a 100 headed dragon known as Landon.
In reflection upon the Garden of Eden, you can see the similarities between the two of them. A sacred garden that belongs to another realm, and cannot be accessed by man, in which there is a forbidden tree whose prized fruit which is not to be touched or disturbed happens to be that of an apple. There is also the serpent connection between the two of them, though here one of the differences occurs. For in the case of the Gardens of Hesperides the dragon is the protector of the fruit, opposed to the popular story in the Garden of Eden in which it is the serpent that seeks to aid in tempting Eve to eat of the apples.
The Garden of Hesprides offers the reverse when Hercules has to battle the dragon to steal of the apple. This is a rather interesting approach to the story, and it reflects the difference in world view between the ancient Greeks and the Bible, in the story of Hesperides, the hero, is cheered on for his action of stealing from the sacred fruit of the Gods, opposed to the story of Even and the apple, in which she is punished for the action.
As a side note in comparing the two stories, one can also draw some similarities between Eve, and the nymphs Hesperides. Before Eve’s falling to temptation, she is actually a very nymph like figure in the way in which she is a daughter of nature, she roams the gardens freely in a state of innocent nudity and does not know shame for the natural state of her body. In way after the seats of the apple she becomes more human, she looses her nymph like nature when she feels the need to conceal herself.
Now as already alluded to above, another one of the important similarities between these two stories is the need for something to happen to the apple, for man to trespasses the realm of the gods by taking that which is most sacred and prized by them, though for very different reasons, which also offers an interesting aspect.
In the case of the Garden of Eden the apple represents of corse the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the knowledge of God himself which is not intended for man to possess, but Eve is ultimately tempted by the serpent and eats of the apple and tempts Adam to join her. In doing this they violate the one rule of the Garden and are exiled but in this action, comes one of the other importance differences between the stories. In the case of the Garden of Eden the folly of Adam and Eve end up being to the benefit of mankind, in spite of being expelled from the paradise, knowledge is passed to mankind and they no longer have to live in ignorance, through this new found knowledge they also are given the fullest ability to exercise their free will.
Now in the case of the Garden of Hesperides the apple is the source of the immorality of the gods, and in the act of stealing of the apple Hercules is acting upon his own personal behalf, in truth the world at large does not really benefit from the steeling of the apple. It is part of an individual quest and he most take the apple as part of his 12 labors, which will absolve of his guilt over the death of his family.
Another interesting twist within the story is the fact that in this case after Hercules slays the dragon Landon, he actually ends up having to tempt Atlas into the actual picking of the apples for him, because of the Hesperide nymphs who are the daughters of Atlas. The way in which Hercules is able to tempt Atlas into doing this, is by offering to literally take the world off of his shoulders and hold it for him while he enters the garden to pick the apple.
So the two stories intertwine in a way that suggests there must be some interaction and relation between the two of them, this sort of thing appears many times, where myths display some suggestion of communication of some sort between vastly different cultures, and the human experiences run on common thread, in stories like this one can understand Jung’s views about the collective conciousness.
