The Tree of Golden Apples was protected by the nymph daughters of Atlas, the Hesperides. The Tree was a wedding gift to the goddess Hera and its golden fruit was said to grant immortality. The serpent-dragon Ladon guarded the Tree with the Hesperides, though even with such fierce protectors apples from its lofty, guarded boughs managed to slip away into the myths of Atalanta, Heracles and several others.