In the Twelve Labors of Hercules, golden apples grew in the Garden of the Hesperides.
The apples were a wedding gift to Hera from Gaia, the earth goddess, when Hera married Zeus. Hera valued them and placed them in a remote western garden. The Hesperides, nymphs associated with the evening or sunset, guarded the garden together with the dragon Ladon in many versions.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring back the apples. Hercules first had to discover the garden’s location and deal with Atlas, who knew where it was. In one famous version, Hercules temporarily held the sky while Atlas retrieved the apples, then used a trick to make Atlas take the burden back.
The apples are sometimes confused with ordinary fruit or with the apples of another myth. Their golden appearance and divine origin are central features of this labor, traditionally numbered eleventh.