Ladon (Dragon)
creatureThe hundred-headed serpent-dragon that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, slain or tricked by Heracles during his eleventh labour.
The Myth
Ladon was a serpentine dragon with a hundred heads, each speaking in a different voice, coiled around the tree of golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides at the western edge of the world. He was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, or in other versions of Phorcys and Ceto, placing him among the ancient sea monsters. The golden apples had been a wedding gift from Gaia to Hera when she married Zeus, and the Hesperides tended them with Ladon as their guardian. For his eleventh labour, Heracles was sent to retrieve the apples. In one version, he shot Ladon with arrows dipped in the Hydra's venom. In another, he sent Atlas to fetch the apples while he held up the sky. Hera placed the slain Ladon among the stars as the constellation Draco, eternally coiling around the celestial north pole.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The constellation Draco, identified with Ladon, coils around the north celestial pole. Around 3000 BC, the star Thuban in Draco was the Pole Star — the Great Pyramid of Giza's descending passage was aligned to it. The dragon guarding golden treasure became the archetype for Fafnir in Norse myth, Smaug in The Hobbit, and every treasure-hoarding dragon in fantasy literature. Ladon is the original.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Ladon
creatureLadon was the serpent-dragon with a hundred heads who guarded the golden apples in the Garden of...
Echidna
creatureEchidna was half woman, half serpent — called the Mother of All Monsters for bearing the most...
Garden of the Hesperides
placeThe Garden of the Hesperides was a paradise at the far western edge of the world where golden...
Hesperides
nymphThe Hesperides tended golden apple trees at the western edge of the world.
Hydra
creatureA monstrous water serpent with multiple heads that grew two more whenever one was cut off. Slaying...
Typhon
creatureThe most fearsome monster in Greek mythology, who challenged Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos....
Typhon (Storm Giant)
creatureTyphon was the most fearsome monster in Greek mythology — a giant with serpent heads who nearly...
Ceryneian Hind (Detail)
creatureA golden-antlered, bronze-hooved deer sacred to Artemis that Heracles pursued for an entire year as...
Atlas
titanThe Titan who was condemned to hold the celestial sphere on his shoulders for eternity. His name...
Ceryneian Hind
creatureThe Ceryneian Hind was a magnificent deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves, sacred to Artemis...
Gaia
primordialGaia was the primordial Earth goddess, the first being to emerge after Chaos — mother of the...
Hera
godQueen of the Olympian gods and goddess of marriage. Known for her jealous rages against Zeus's...