On Unbelievable Stories (18)

It is said that there existed certain women called the Hesperides who possessed a tree with golden apples on it guarded by a serpent, and that Heracles mounted an expedition to get these apples.

But the truth is as follows. Hesperos was a Milesian man who dwelt in Caria and had two daughters, who were called Hesperides [‘daughters of Hesperos’]. He had excellent, profitable sheep, of the breed which one still finds in Miletos. For this reason, they were named ‘golden’, for gold is a most fine thing and these sheep were likewise most fine. People referred to them as mela - an old-fashioned word for sheep that also happened to mean ‘apples’. Heracles saw them grazing by the sea, herded them onto his ship, and took them home. He also killed their shepherd, who was called Draco [‘Serpent’]. Hesperos was no longer alive, but his daughters were still living. Accordingly, people would say, We saw the golden mela which Heracles took from the Hesperides, after he killed their guardian, Draco. From this, the myth arose.