Editing Hesperides (section)

=== The nymphs of the evening ===
Ordinarily, the Hesperides number three, like the other Greek triads (the [[Charites|Three Graces]] and the [[Moirai|Three Fates]]). "Since the Hesperides themselves are mere symbols of the gifts the apples embody, they cannot be actors in a human drama. Their abstract, interchangeable names are a symptom of their impersonality", classicist [[Evelyn Byrd Harrison]] has observed.<ref>[[Evelyn Byrd Harrison]], "Hesperides and Heroes: A Note on the Three-Figure Reliefs", ''Hesperia'' '''33'''.1 (January 1964 pp. 76–82) pp 79–80.</ref>

They are sometimes portrayed as the evening daughters of Night ([[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]]), either alone,<ref>Hesiod, ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.%20Th.%20215&lang=original 215]</ref> or with Darkness ([[Erebus]]),<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]]. ''Fabulae,'' ''[http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html Preface];'' [[Cicero]]. ''[[De Natura Deorum]],'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0037%3Abook%3D3%3Asection%3D44 ''iii.44'']</ref> in accord with the way Eos in the farthermost east, in [[Colchis]], is the daughter of the titan [[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]]. The Hesperides are also listed as the daughters of [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De Astronomica]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.3.1 2.3.1] citing Pherecydes as the authority</ref> and [[Hesperis (mythology)|Hesperis]],<ref name=":02">[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html#27.2 4.27.2]</ref> or of [[Phorcys]] and [[Ceto]],<ref>[[scholia]] in [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'', 4.1399</ref> or of [[Zeus]] and [[Themis]].<ref>[[scholia]] in [[Euripides]], ''[[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]]'', 742</ref> In a Roman literary source, the nymphs are simply said to be the daughters of [[Hesperus]], embodiment of the "west".<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''ad [[Aeneid]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D4%3Acommline%3D484 iv.484].</ref>

[[File:Frederic Leighton - The Garden of the Hesperides.jpg|thumb|''The Garden of the Hesperides'' by [[Frederick, Lord Leighton]], 1892.|alt=|left]]

Nevertheless, among the names given to them, though never all at once, there were either three, four, or seven [[Hesperus|Hesperides]]. [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] gives the number of three with their names as [[Aegle (mythology)|Aigle]], [[Erytheia (mythology)|Erytheis]], and Hespere (or Hespera).<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'' 4.1396–1449</ref> [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] in his preface to the ''Fabulae'' names them as Aegle, Hesperie, and Aerica.<ref>[[Wilhelm Friedrich Rinck]] (1853). ''Die Religion der Hellenen: aus den Mythen, den Lehren der Philosophen und dem Kultus''. p. 352 [https://archive.org/details/diereligionderhe01rinc/page/352 <!-- quote=aegle Hesperie and Aerica. -->]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALOQEtEjkUkC&q=Aegle,+Hesperie+and+Aerica&pg=PA87 |title=Faules (vol. I) |last=Higí |date=2011 |publisher=Fundació Bernat Metge |isbn=9788498591811 |language=ca}}</ref><ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]]. ''Fabulae'', [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html Preface].</ref>{{efn|name=Aerica-adj|Aerica is an adjective, literally "aerial", not a name.}} In another source, they are named [[Aegle (mythology)|Aegle]], [[Arethusa (Greek myth)|Arethusa]], and Hesperethusa, the three daughters of Hesperus.<ref>Peter Parley (1839). ''Tales about the mythology of Greece and Rome'', p. 356</ref><ref>Charles N. Baldwin, Henry Howland Crapo (1825). ''A Universal Biographical Dictionary'', p. 414</ref>

[[Hesiod]] says that these "clear-voiced Hesperides",<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D270 275]</ref> daughters of Ceto and Phorcys, guarded the [[golden apple]]s beyond Ocean in the far west of the world, gives the number of the Hesperides as four, and their names as: Aigle (or Aegle, "dazzling light"), Erytheia (or Erytheis), Hesperia ("sunset glow") whose name refers to the colour of the setting sun, red, yellow, or gold; and lastly Arethusa.<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on [[Virgil|Virgil's]] [[Aeneid]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+A.+4.484&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053:boo=8:chapter=53&highlight=Arethusam 4.484] quoting [[Hesiod]]</ref> In addition, Hesperia, and Arethusa, the so-called "ox-eyed Hesperethusa".<ref>Hesiod, ''Homeric Hymns and Homerica'', edited and translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hesiod,_the_Homeric_Hymns_and_Homerica/Doubtful_Fragments]</ref> [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] gives the number of the Hesperides also as four, namely: Aigle, Erytheia, Hesperia (or Hesperie), and Arethusa<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.5.11&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Arethusa 2.5.11]</ref> while [[Fabius Planciades Fulgentius|Fulgentius]] named them as Aegle, Hesperie, [[Medusa (Greek myth)|Medusa]], and Arethusa.<ref>Fulgentius, ''Expositio Virgilianae continentiae secundum philosophos moralis''{{full citation needed|date=June 2014}}</ref><ref>Ersch, Johann Samuel (1830). ''Allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge von genannten schrifts bearbeitet und herausgegeben von J. S. Ersch und J. G. Gruber''. p. 148 [https://books.google.com/books?id=tTlYAAAAYAAJ&dq=fulgentius+medusa+arethusa&pg=PA148]</ref>  However, the historiographer [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] in his account stated that they are seven in number with no information of their names.<ref name=":02"/> An ancient [[vase painting]] attests the following names as four: [[Asterope (Greek myth)|Asterope]], [[Chrysothemis]], Hygieia, and [[Lipara (mythology)|Lipara]]; on another seven names as [[Aiopis]], Antheia, [[Donakis]], [[Calypso (nymphs)|Calypso]], [[Mermesa]], [[Nelisa]], and [[Tara (mythology)|Tara]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Walters|first=Henry Beauchamp|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofancient02walt/page/92/mode/2up&#124;|title=History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman: Based on the Work of Samuel Birch|year=1905|volume=2|pages=92}}</ref> A [[Pyxis (vessel)|pyxis]] has [[Hippolyte (mythology)|Hippolyte]], Mapsaura, and [[Thetis]].<ref>Attic pyxis (red-figure) by [[Douris (vase painter)|Douris]], circa 470. London, British Museum: E. 772.</ref> [[Petrus Apianus]] attributed to these stars a mythical connection of their own. He believed that they were the seven Hesperides, nymph daughters of [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] and [[Hesperis (mythology)|Hesperis]]. Their names were: Aegle, Erythea, Arethusa, Hestia, Hespera, Hesperusa, and Hespereia.<ref>Michael Grant, John Hazel (2002). ''Who's who in Classical Mythology'', p. 268 [https://books.google.com/books?id=IKRDEAeout8C&dq=Hespera,+Hesperusa+and+Hespereia&pg=PA268]</ref> A certain [[Crete (mythology)|Crete]], possible eponym of the [[Crete|island of Crete]], was also called one of the Hesperides.<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s.v. [https://topostext.org/work/241 Krētē]; [[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]], ''Polyhistor'', [https://topostext.org/work/747#11.5 11.5]. Translated by Arwen Apps</ref>

They are sometimes called the "Western Maidens", the "Daughters of Evening", or ''Erythrai'', and the "Sunset Goddesses", designations all apparently tied to their imagined location in the distant west. [[Hesperis (mythology)|Hesperis]] is appropriately the personification of the evening (as [[Eos]] is of the dawn) and the Evening Star is [[Hesperus]].

In addition to their tending of the garden, they have taken great pleasure in singing.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.%20Th.%20518&lang=original 518]; ''Orphic Fragments'', 17; [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/126 4.1399].</ref> [[Euripides]] calls them "minstrel maids"  as they possess the power of sweet song.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Heracles]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Eur.%20Her.%20394&lang=original 394]</ref> The Hesperides could be [[hamadryad]] nymphs or [[epimeliad]]s as suggested by a passage in which they change into trees: ''"... Hespere became a poplar and Eretheis an elm, and Aegle a willow's sacred trunk ..."'' and in the same account, they are described figuratively or literally to have white arms and golden heads.<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/126 4.1422ff]</ref>

Erytheia ("the red one") is one of the Hesperides. The name was applied to an island close to the coast of southern [[Hispania]], which was the site of the original Punic colony of [[Cádiz|Gades]] (modern Cadiz). [[Pliny's Natural History]] (VI.36) records of the island of Gades:
{{quote|On the side which looks towards Spain, at about 100&nbsp;paces distance, is another long island, three miles wide, on which the original city of Gades stood. By Ephorus and Philistides it is called Erythia, by Timæus and Silenus Aphrodisias, and by the natives the ''Isle of Juno''.}}
The island was the home of [[Geryon]], who was overcome by [[Heracles]].
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Comparative table of Hesperides' parentage, number and names</big>
! rowspan="3" |Variables
! rowspan="3" |Item
! colspan="13" |Sources
|-
!Hesiod
!Euripides
! colspan="2" |Apollonius
! rowspan="2" |Cic.
! rowspan="2" |Apollod.
!Hyg.
!Serv.
! rowspan="2" |Fulg.
! rowspan="2" |Apianus
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |''Vase Paintings''
|-
|''Theo.''
|''Sch. Hipp.''
|''Argo''
|''Sch.''
|''Fab.''
|''Aen.''
|-
| rowspan="6" |''Parents''
|Nyx
|{{yan}}
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|Nyx and Erebus
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|Zeus and Themis
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|{{yan}}
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|Phorcys and Ceto
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|{{yan}}
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|Atlas and Hesperis
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|{{yan}}
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|Hesperus
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|{{yan}}
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|-
| rowspan="3" |''Number''
!3
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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!4
|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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!7
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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| rowspan="26" |''Names''
|Aegle
|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
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|-
|Erythea or
|{{yan}}
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|Erytheis / Eretheis or
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|{{yan}}
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|[[Erytheia (mythology)|Erythia]]
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|{{yan}}
| 
|{{yan}}
| 
|{{yan}}
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|-
|[[Asterope (Hesperid)|Hesperia]] or
|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|Hespere /
Hespera or
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
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|Hesperusa
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|{{yan}}
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|Arethusa
|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
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|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
|{{yan}}
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|[[Hestia (disambiguation)|Hestia]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Medusa
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| 
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| {{yan}}
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| 
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| Aerica{{efn|name=Aerica-adj}}
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| {{yan}}
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| 
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|-
|[[Hippolyte]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Mapsaura
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| {{yan}}
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|[[Thetis]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Asterope
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|{{yan}}
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|[[Chrysothemis]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Hygieia
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|{{yan}}
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|Lipara
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|{{yan}}
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|Aiopis
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|{{yan}}
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|[[Antheia]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Donakis
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|{{yan}}
|-
|[[Calypso (nymphs)|Calypso]]
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|{{yan}}
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|[[Mermesa]]
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|{{yan}}
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|Nelisa
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|{{yan}}
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|Tara
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|{{yan}}
|}