![]() ![]() But, this is not the sunken city of Atlantis, a story that is still widely contested.Ītlantis basically refers to the land where Atlas dwelled. Act He described the inhabitants of Atlantis as Atlanteans and actually studied the inhabitants of the place several centuries after the Greeks left. The Birth of the Hesperidesĭiodorus believes that the Hesperides saw their first rays of light in the land of Atlantis. Secondly, the mythology of the Hesperides is so intertwined with that of Atlas that it’s probable the two are as close as family. For one, because Hesperis and Hesperides seem too similar of names to just look away from. It is therefore more than probable that the ancient Greeks, too, saw Atlas as the only genuine father of the goddesses.Īlthough we can’t say for sure still, the rest of this story will elaborate on the Hesperides as parented by Atlas and Hesperis. Many of the stories that relate to the Hesperides can be linked directly to the mythology of Atlas. Atlas was known as the god of endurance, ‘bearer of the heavens’, and teacher of astronomy to mankind.Īccording to one myth, he literally became the mount Atlas after being turned to stone. Indeed, Hesperis was the mother, and Atlas is seen as the father in Diodonus’ narrative. Yet, it was the young woman Hesperis that brought seven daughters to Atlas. It’s easy to confuse the potential mother of the Hesperides with another Greek god by the name of Hesperus, who turns out to be her brother. Hesperis is generally considered to be the Northern star, a place in heaven which was granted to her after her death. It’s in the name, so it would make sense. On the other hand, Diodonus considered Hesperis to be the mother of the Hesperides. What does the goddess of the night have to do with the goddesses of the sunset? Diodonus, Hesperis, and Atlas It is, however, quite hard to link Nyx to the actual Hesperides. Some of her children were the god of peaceful death, Thanatos, and the god of sleep, Hypnos. Nyx was quite the seducer, birthing many children. Since she is generally seen as the mother of evil spirits, it was more than fitting to refer to the goddess in this way. Hesiod describes Nyx in Theogony as ‘deadly night’ and as ‘evil Nyx’. All the primordial gods together ruled the cosmos, up until the Titanchomy, the moment that the 12 Titans claimed the throne. She, like Gaia and the other primordial gods, emerged from chaos. ![]() Nyx is the Greek primordial goddess of the night. Not for the least because she was apparently able to give birth to the Hesperides without the help of the other sex. If you’re somewhat familiar with Greek mythology, this name might definitely ring a bell. Hesiod, Nyx, and ErebusĪccording to Hesiod, the Hesperides were birthed by Nyx. The main difference between the two intellectuals and their formulation of classical mythology surrounds their ideas surrounding the parents of the Herides. Only fifteen of the books survived intact, but that should be enough to describe the story of the Hesperides. He wrote a series of forty books between 60 and 30 BC. However, Diodonus, an ancient Greek historian who is known for writing the monumental universal history Bibliotheca Historica, also can make his claim. Many Greek mythological stories have been described by him and he is often used as a valid source for Greek mythology. On the one hand, we have Hesiod, an ancient Greek writer generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC. Staying with the struggle, two writers can lay a claim on this prestigious honor. Hesiod or Diodonus?īut, that means that the most cited storyline should be identified first. ![]() While there are many different stories, sticking to one of the most cited ones might be the best thing to do, just to keep a clear storyline. Not only that, even Zeus and Themis can make a claim to the child support of the Hesperides. The Hesperides are also listed as daughters of Atlas and Hesperis, or Phorcys and Ceto. Some sources claim that she was a single mom, while some sources claim that they were fathered by Erebus, the god of darkness himself.īut, that’s not all. For starters, Nyx is in many sources presented as the mother of the Hesperides. Just to give a bit of insight into the complexity of the situation here, let us take a look at the different parents that are mentioned in relation to the Hesperides. Since many sisters in Greek mythology come in triads, it might be probable that the Hesperides also were with three. The most common number of Hesperides are either three, four, or seven. The number of sisters that are referred to as the Hesperides vary per source. The story of the Hesperides is very much contested, even to the point that we can’t say for sure how many there were in total. The Garden of the Hesperides and the Golden AppleĬonfusion About the Hesperides in Greek Mythology.Confusion About the Hesperides in Greek Mythology. ![]()
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