Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun plural The nymphs who together with a dragon watch over a garden in which golden apples grow.
- noun plural A garden, situated at the western end of the earth, in which golden apples grow.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In Greek myth, nymphs who guarded, with the aid of a fierce serpent, the golden apples given by Ge (Earth) to Hera (Juno), in delightful gardens at the western extremity of the world, supposed to be in the region of Mount Atlas in Africa. Their origin and number (from three to seven) are variously given.
- In botany, a class of plants founded by Endlicher, including the orders Humiriaceæ, Olacineæ, Aurantiaceæ, Meliaceæ, and Cedrelaceæ. Same as the Hesperideæ of Sachs.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun plural (Class. Myth.) The daughters of Hesperus, or Night (brother of Atlas), and fabled possessors of a garden producing golden apples, in Africa, at the western extremity of the known world. To slay the guarding dragon and get some of these apples was one of the labors of Hercules. Called also
Atlantides . - noun plural The garden producing the golden apples.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (Greek mythology) group of 3 to 7 nymphs who guarded the golden apples that Gaea gave as a wedding gift to Hera
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The Hesperides were the three daughters of Night, who ruled the guardian dragon.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10 The Guide Charles Herbert Sylvester
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The Hesperides is a collection of more than a thousand short poems, a few of which you have already read in this chapter.
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Four maidens called the Hesperides, daughters of Night, were the guardians of this sacred garden, and with them watched the hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, whose father was Phorkys, the parent of many monsters.
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Four maidens called the Hesperides, daughters of Night, were the guardians of this sacred garden, and with them watched the hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, whose father was Phorkys, the parent of many monsters.
Famous Tales of Fact and Fancy Myths and Legends of the Nations of the World Retold for Boys and Girls Logan [Editor] Marshall
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There he was reared by the lily maidens called Hesperides, till he came to his full strength, and commanded the whole army of the Aethiopes.
Tales of Troy: Ulysses, the sacker of cities Andrew Lang 1878
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Berenice, also called Hesperides, a town in Libya, 312
The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens Ammianus Marcellinus 1851
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In the 'Hesperides' our author, with great judgment, rejects the common fable, which attributes to Hercules the slaying of the dragon and the plunder of the golden fruit.
Early Reviews of English Poets John Louis Haney
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"Hesperides," Herrick refers to the Christmas sports of the time, and says: --
Christmas: Its Origin and Associations Together with Its Historical Events and Festive Celebrations During Nineteen Centuries William Francis Dawson
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The 'Hesperides' (named from the golden apples of the classical Garden of the Daughters of the Sun) are twelve hundred little secular pieces, the 'Noble Numbers' a much less extensive series of religious lyrics.
A History of English Literature Robert Huntington Fletcher
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The "Hesperides" was received with chilling indifference.
Ponkapog Papers. 1904
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