In Greek mythology, Ladon guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.
Ladon was a serpent-like dragon appointed to protect the miraculous apples, which were a wedding gift to Hera from Gaia. The garden stood at the western edge of the mythic world and was tended by the Hesperides, daughters of the evening or sunset.
In the best-known version of the Heracles story, Heracles must obtain the apples as his eleventh labor. He receives help from Atlas, who retrieves the fruit while Heracles temporarily supports the sky. Some accounts instead say Heracles kills Ladon and takes the apples himself.
Ladon is sometimes confused with the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, but that creature belonged to Colchis and was encountered by Jason. Greek vase paintings and later art often depict Ladon as a many-coiled serpent, although descriptions vary between sources.