Hesperides

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (/hɛˈspɛrɪdiːz/; Ancient Greek: Ἑσπερίδες) was the collective name for the nymphs of the evening and golden light of sunset, and who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.

According to the Sicilian Greek poet Stesichorus, in his poem the "Song of Geryon", and the Greek geographer Strabo, in his book Geographika (volume III), the garden of the Hesperides is located in Tartessos, a location placed in the south of the Iberian peninsula.

By Ancient Roman times, the garden of the Hesperides had lost its archaic place in religion and had dwindled to a poetic convention, in which form it was revived in Renaissance poetry, to refer both to the garden and to the nymphs that dwelt there.

Etymology

The name means originating from Hesperus, the evening star Venus, equivalent to vesper.

Hesperides (poetry)

Hesperides is a book of poetry published in 1648 by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick. This collection of 1200 of his lyrical poems, his magnum opus was published under his direction, establishing his reputation. It is replete with carpe diem sentiments. It includes "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", which features the famous lines:

It also includes "Corinna's Going a-Maying"., which includes the lines:

References

External links

Hesperides (disambiguation)

Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world in Greek mythology.

Hesperides may also refer to:

See also