In the Twelve Labors of Hercules, where did Hercules find the golden apples he had to bring back?

In the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Hercules found the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.

The garden belonged to the Hesperides, nymphs associated with the far western edge of the world. The apples were a wedding gift to Hera from Gaia, the earth goddess, when Hera married Zeus. Hera placed them in a remote garden and appointed the serpent Ladon to guard them, sometimes alongside or instead of the Hesperides.

The location was deliberately obscure. Ancient authors placed it beyond North Africa, near the Atlas Mountains, or at the world’s western boundary. Hercules had to discover the route before he could complete the labor. In one important version, Atlas retrieved the apples while Hercules temporarily supported the heavens.

The apples are not always treated as ordinary food or as the source of immortality. Their main significance is that they were divine property and extraordinarily difficult to reach. Greek accounts also differ over whether Hercules personally picked them or received them from Atlas.