Apple (symbolism) - Wikipedia

Symbol in various mythologies and religions

Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that as late as the 17th century, the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit other than berries, but including nuts.[1] This term may have extended to plant galls such as oak apples, as they were thought to be of plant origin. When tomatoes were introduced into Europe, they were called "love apples". In one Old English work, cucumbers are called eorþæppla (lit. "earth-apples"), just as in French, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Afrikaans, Persian and Swiss German as well as several other German dialects, the words for potatoes mean "earth-apples". In some languages, oranges are called "golden apples" or "Chinese apples". Datura is called "thorn-apple".

At times artists co-opted the apple, whether for ironic effect or as a stock element of symbolic vocabulary. Thus, secular art as well made use of the apple as symbol of love and sexuality. It is often an attribute associated with Venus who is shown holding it.

Mythology and religion

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Christianity

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Though the forbidden fruit in the Book of Genesis is not identified, popular Christian tradition holds that Adam and Eve ate an apple from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. The unnamed fruit of Eden thus became an apple under the influence of the story of the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin. There is nothing in the Bible to show the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge was necessarily an apple.[2]

The larynx in the human throat has been called Adam's apple because of the folk tale, recorded in the 17th century, that the bulge was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of Adam.[3]

Greek

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The Garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the west, where either a single apple plant or a grove grows, producing golden apples. According to legend, when the marriage of Zeus and Hera took place, the different deities came with nuptial presents for the latter, and among them Gaia, with branches bearing golden apples upon them as a wedding gift. The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally picked apples from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard.[4]

In the myth of the Judgement of Paris, it was from the Garden that Eris, the goddess of discord, obtained the Apple of Discord. Eris became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed Kallistēi ('For the most beautiful one'), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris of Troy was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the Trojan War.[5]

The Greek hero Heracles, as a part of his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center.[6]

Atalanta, also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes (a.k.a. Melanion, a name possibly derived from melon the Greek word for both "apple" and fruit in general), who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples (gifts of Aphrodite, the goddess of love) to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was finally successful, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.[7]

Norse

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In Norse mythology, Iðunn, the goddess of eternal youth, is the keeper of an eski (a wooden box made of ash wood and often used for carrying personal possessions) full of apples eaten by the gods when they begin to grow old, rendering them young again. This is described as recurring until Ragnarök. Gangleri (described as King Gylfi in disguise) states that it seems to him that the gods depend greatly upon Iðunn's good faith and care.[8] Iðunn was once abducted by Þjazi the giant, who used Loki to lure Iðunn and her apples out of Ásgarðr. After borrowing Freyja's falcon skin, Loki liberated Iðunn from Þjazi by transforming her into a nut for the flight back. Þjazi gave chase in the form of an eagle, whereupon reaching Ásgarðr he was set aflame by a bonfire lit by the Æsir.[9]

English scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson notes a connection between apples and the Vanir, a group of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing an instance of eleven "golden apples" being given to woo the beautiful Gerðr by Skírnir, who was acting as messenger for the major Vanir god Freyr in stanzas 19 and 20 of the poem Skírnismál. Davidson also notes a further connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology; in chapter 2 of the Völsunga saga when the major goddess Frigg sends King Rerir an apple after he prays to Odin for a child, Frigg's messenger (in the guise of a crow) drops the apple in his lap as he sits atop a mound.[10]

The Norse kenning apples of Hel (epli Heljar) occurs in a piece by the skald Þórbjörn Brúnason embedded in the Heiðarvíga saga. The phrase appears to refer to death itself as a subversion of Iðunn's apples.[11] The skald says that his wife desires his death, and that she wants him to live under the earth and to give apples of Hel to him. Davidson believes this may specifically imply that the apple was thought of by the skald as the food of the dead.[12]

Celtic

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The fruit and tree of the apple is celebrated in numerous functions in Celtic mythology, legend, and folklore; it is an emblem of fruitfulness and sometimes a means to immortality. Wands of druids were made from wood either of the yew or of the apple.[13]

Allantide (Cornish: Kalan Gwav, meaning first day of winter) is a Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on the night of 31 October, as well as the following day time. One of the most important parts of this festival was the giving of Allan apples, large glossy red apples that were highly polished, to family and friends as tokens of good luck. Allan apple markets used to be held throughout West Cornwall in the run up to the feast. and in the town of St Just it surpassed Christmas as a time for giving gifts until the late 20th century. A game was also recorded in which two pieces of wood were nailed together in the shape of a cross. It was then suspended, with 4 lit candles on each arm and Allan apples suspended underneath. The aim being to catch the apples with your mouth without getting molten wax on your face. For unmarried recipients the apples would be placed under their pillows in the hope that they would bring dreams of their future wife or husband.[14]

The acquisition of the Silver Branch in The Voyage of Bran, a silver apple branch with white blossoms, is the incident which sends the eponymous hero Bran mac Febail on a journey to the Otherworld.[15]

A magical silver branch with three golden apples belonged to the sea deity Manannán mac Lir and was given to the high king Cormac mac Airt in the narrative of the Echtra Cormaic. The branch created magical soporific music that assuaged those afflicted with injury or illness to sleep.[16] In the Irish tale Echtra Condla, Conle the son of Conn is fed an apple by a fairy lover, which sustains him in terms of food and drink for a month without diminishing; but it also makes him long for the woman and the beautiful country of women to which his lover is enticing him.[17]

In the Arthurian mythos, the island of Avalon is considered the Isle of Apples, and its very name, originally Welsh, refers to the fruit.[18] Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini describes the enchanted isle as being populated by many apple trees. Avalon from its first inception was considered the home of the magical Morgan le Fay, her sisters, and their mystical practices.[19]

After being killed by brigands, the Breton pseudo-saint Konorin was transformed into a mysterious apple which, when eaten by a young virgin, causes her impregnation and his rebirth as the "son of the apple, the fruit of wisdom".[20]

Legends, folklore, and traditions

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In North America a Native American is called an "apple" (a slur that stands for someone who is "red on the outside, white on the inside.") primarily by other Native Americans to indicate someone who has lost touch with their cultural identity. First used in the 1980s.[21] During the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat apples dipped in honey to evoke a "sweet new year".[22] In the United States, teachers used to commonly receive gifts of apples, as the community was expected to both provide housing and food for them, because teachers were often unmarried women. The symbol of an apple is still strongly associated with teachers to this day, with apples being a popular theme for gifts and awards given to exemplary teachers.[23] In North Caucasian mythology, the Narts possessed a tree which grew apples that would guarantee a child to the person who consumed them, based on which side of the apple was eaten.[24]

Ethnobotanical and ethnomycological scholars such as R. Gordon Wasson, Carl Ruck and Clark Heinrich write that the mythological apple is a symbolic substitution for the entheogenic fly agaric mushroom. Its association with knowledge is an allusion to the revelatory states described by some shamans and users of psychedelic mushrooms.[25][26][27]

Gallery

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• Venus Holding an Apple, Daniel Mauch, 1530s
• The Virgin and Child Under an Apple Tree, Lucas Cranach the elder, 1530s
• Two Young Men, Crispin van den Broeck (Dutch), c. 1590; Oil on panel; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge[28]
• Venus Verticordia, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, c. 1866

See also

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• Apple Tree Man
• Shooting an apple off one's child's head
• The symbol in Psychoanalysis and archetypes

References

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1. ^ Douglas Harper, Historian (25 May 2011). "apple". Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. ^ "Apple". Bible Hub. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
3. ^ Bartholin, Thomas (1662) [1651]. Bartholinus Anatomy. Translated by Culpeper, Nicholas; Cole, Abdiah. London: Peter Cole. p. 123. That same bunch which is seen on the foreside of the Neck, is called Adams Apple, because the common people have a belief, that by the judgment of God, a part of that fatal Apple, abode sticking in Adams Throat, and is so communicated to his posterity [Protuberantia illa in collo anterius conspicua, dicitur Pomum Adami; [quia vulgo persuasum in Adami faucibus pomi fatalis partem ex pœna Divina remansisse, & ad posteros translatam]]
4. ^ Pherecydes, Hyginus. Astronomica ii.3
5. ^ Colluthus. Rape of Helen, 59ff. Translated by Mair, A. W. Loeb Classical Library Volume 219. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1928
6. ^ Karl Kerenyi, The Heroes of the Greeks, 1959, pg. 172.
7. ^ "HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN FRAGMENTS, FRAGMENT 14 - Theoi Classical Texts Library". https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodCatalogues.html. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
8. ^ Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3, pg. 25. For eski see Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2006). The Prose Edda. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044755-5, pg. 141.
9. ^ Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3, pg. 60
10. ^ Ellis Davidson, H. R. (1965). Gods And Myths Of Northern Europe. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-013627-4, pg. 165-166.
11. ^ "Kvasir Symbol Database: Apple & Apple Tree".
12. ^ Ellis Davidson, H. R. (1965). Gods And Myths Of Northern Europe. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-013627-4, pg. 165.
13. ^ McKillop, James (1998). 'apple.' A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press
14. ^ Simon Reed - The Cornish Traditional Year 2009
15. ^ Meyer, Kuno, ed. (1895), Voyage of Bran, 1, London: D. Nutt,¶2-31 (3–30 are quatrain strophes). pp. 1–17
16. ^ Stokes, Whitley, ed. (1891), "Echtra Cormaic i Tir Tairngiri ocus Ceart Claidib Cormaic", Irische Texte, S. Hirzel, 3, pp. 185–202 (text); 203–221 (translation); 222–229 (notes)
17. ^ Joyce, P.W. (1879), "Connla of the Golden Hair, and the Fairy Maiden", pg. 108, Old Celtic Romances
18. ^ Matasović, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Brill, 2008, p. 23.
19. ^ "Vita Merlini Index". sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
20. ^ McKillop, James (1998). 'Konorin.' A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press
21. ^ Green, 2005, ISBN 0-304-36636-6, p. 29
22. ^ "Why Apples and Honey? | Reform Judaism". reformjudaism.org. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
23. ^ Donato, Al (2019-09-09). "The Sweet Meaning Behind This Classic Back-To-School Gift". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
24. ^ Colarusso, John (2002). Nart Sagas: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Circassians and Abkhazians (Fourth ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02647-5.
25. ^ Wasson, R. Gordon (1968). Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-683800-1.
26. ^ Ruck, Carl; Blaise Daniel Staples; Clark Heinrich (2001). The Apples of Apollo, Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist. Durham: Carolina Academic Press. pp. 64–70. ISBN 0-89089-924-X.
27. ^ Heinrich, Clark (2002). Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy. Rochester: Park Street Press. pp. 64–70. ISBN 0-89281-997-9.
28. ^ "Fitzwilliam Museum".

v t e Adam and Eve
Source	Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis Adam Eve
Offspring	Cain and Abel Cain Abel Aclima Luluwa Seth Awan Azura Jumella
Related theology	Fall of man Original sin Garden of Eden Tree of the knowledge of good and evil Serpents in the Bible Forbidden fruit Apple Fig leaf Figs in the Bible Adam's ale Adamic language Camael Protevangelium Rosh Hashanah Seed of the woman Shamsiel Lilith Tree of life Allegorical interpretations of Genesis
Other cultures	Adam–God doctrine Adam and Eve in Mormonism Adam in Islam Adam in rabbinic literature Al-A'raf Book of Moses Endowment Manu (Hinduism) Mashya and Mashyana Serpent seed Tree of Jiva and Atman Tree of life (Quran) Our Lady of Endor Coven
Film	Mama's Affair (1921) Good Morning, Eve! (1934) The Broken Jug (1937) The Original Sin (1948) The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960) El pecado de Adán y Eva (1969) La Biblia en pasta (1984) The Annunciation (1984) Second Time Lucky (1984) Adipapam (1988) Adam (1992) The Last Eve (2005) Year One (2009) The Tragedy of Man (2011) Adam and Dog (2011) Tropico (2013)
Plays	Le Jeu d'Adam (12th century) The Broken Jug (1808) The Tragedy of Man (1861) The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972)
Musicals	The Apple Tree (1966) Dude (1972) Up from Paradise (1973) Children of Eden (1991)
Compositions	The Creation (1798) structure La mort d'Adam (1809) Ève (1875) Genesis Suite (1945) Lilith (2001)
Literature	Apocalypse of Adam Book of Moses Book of Abraham Books of Adam Book of the Penitence of Adam Cave of Treasures "El amigo de Él y Ella" Genesis A and Genesis B Harrowing of Hell Life of Adam and Eve Testament of Adam Testimony of Truth (3rd century) Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (6th century) "Old Saxon Genesis" (9th century) "Adam lay ybounden" (15th century) Paradise Lost (1667) Le Dernier Homme (1805) Extracts from Adam's Diary (1904) Eve's Diary (1905) The Book of Genesis (2009) The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve (2017)
Art	Bernward Doors (1015) Tapestry of Creation (11th century) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1425) Vienna Diptych (15th century) The Last Judgment (1482) The Garden of Earthly Delights (1504) Adam and Eve (1507) The Creation of Adam (1512) The Haywain Triptych (1516) Eve, the Serpent and Death (1510s or 1520s) Adam and Eve (1528) Adam and Eve (1550) The Fall of Man (1550) Adam and Eve (c. 1550) The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617) The Fall of Man (1628) Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (c. 1650) The Four Seasons (1660s) The Koren Picture-Bible (1692–1696) Paradise Lost (19th century) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828) The First Mourning (1888) Adam and Eve (1905) Adam and Eve (1909) Eve (1911) Eve (1931) Adam and Eve (1932) The Serpent Chooses Adam and Eve (1958) Genesis (1960) Mary and Eve (2005)
Songs	"Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again" "Adam-ondi-Ahman" (1835) "Forbidden Fruit" (1915) "The Garden of Eden" (1956) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968) "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" (1970) "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (1979)
Albums	The Cainian Chronicle (1996) Visions of Eden (2006) Snakes for the Divine (2010)
Geography	Adam-ondi-Ahman Tomb of Eve
Biology	Mitochondrial Eve Y-chromosomal Adam The Real Eve The Seven Daughters of Eve
Story within a story	Doraemon: Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World Island of Love The Visitors
Television	"Adam & Eve" (1992) "Probe 7, Over and Out" (1963) "Simpsons Bible Stories" "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" "Daesong Heavy Industries II: Return to Innocence" "Holly Bibble"
Games	Demon: The Fallen (2002)
Other	Pre-Adamite Generations of Adam Cave of the Patriarchs Adam and Eve cylinder seal Genealogies of Genesis Carnal knowledge Legend of the Rood Ystorya Adaf Ransom theory of atonement

v t e Apples
List of apple cultivars
Species	Malus domestica Malus niedzwetzkyana Malus sieversii
Table apples	Adams Pearmain Aia Ilu Airlie Red Flesh Akane Åkerö Alkmene Allington Pippin Ambrosia Anna Annurca Ariane Arkansas Black Ashmead's Kernel Aurora Golden Gala Autumn Bough Autumn Glory Baldwin Beacon Beauty of Bath Belle de Boskoop Bellflower Ben Davis Birgit Bonnier Braeburn Brina Cameo Champion Civni (Rubens) Claygate Pearmain Clivia Cornish Aromatic Cornish Gilliflower Cortland Cosmic Crisp Court Pendu Plat Cox's Orange Pippin Crimson Gold Cripps Red Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) Delbard Jubilée Delbarestivale Delrouval Devonshire Quarrenden Discovery Dorsett Golden Dougherty Duchess of Oldenburg Dumelow's Seedling Egremont Russet Ellison's Orange Elstar Empire Enterprise Envy Esopus Spitzenburg Eva EverCrisp Fiesta Filippa Flamenco Florina Fuji Gala Gascoyne's Scarlet Geheimrat Dr. Oldenburg Ginger Gold Golden Delicious Golden Orange Goldspur Granny Smith Gravenstein Grimes Golden Haralson Hokuto Honeycrisp Honeygold Idared Ingrid Marie James Grieve Jazz Jersey Black Jonadel Jonagold Jonathan Jubilee Julieta Jupiter Kanzi Karmijn de Sonnaville Kidd's Orange Red King of the Pippins Knobby Russet Lady Alice Laxton's Superb Liberty Liveland Raspberry Lodi Lord Lambourne Lucombe's Seedling Macoun McIntosh Melba Melrose Mutsu Newtown Pippin Nicola Opal Sciros (Pacific Rose) Pam's Delight Papirovka Paula Red Pink Pearl Pinova Prima Pristine Rajka Ralls Janet Rambo Rave Red Astrachan Red Delicious Red Pineapple Redlove apples Rhode Island Greening Ribston Pippin Roxbury Russet Sandow Sansa Sekai Ichi Spartan Splendour Star of Devon Stayman Sturmer Pippin SugarBee Summerfree Sundowner Sunflare Sunset Suntan SweeTango Taliaferro Tartu Rose Tentation Tompkins King Topaz Tsugaru Wealthy Winesap Winston Worcester Pearmain Wyken Pippin York Imperial Zestar
Cooking apples	Antonovka Bismarck Blenheim Orange Bramley Calville Blanc d'hiver Campanino Cellini Chelmsford Wonder Costard Creston Crimson Bramley Flower of Kent Golden Noble Granny Smith Grenadier King Byerd Manks Codlin Newton Wonder Norfolk Biffin Northern Spy Reinette du Canada Rome Upton Pyne White Transparent Wolf River
Cider apples	Brown Snout Cap of Liberty Chisel Jersey Coccagee Crimson King Dabinett Dufflin Ellis Bitter Foxwhelp Golden Russet Golden Spire Hangdown Harrison Cider Kingston Black Major Michelin Poveshon Redstreak Slack-ma-Girdle Styre Tom Putt Woodcock Yarlington Mill
Ornamental apple	Flamenco Goldspur Wijcik McIntosh
Apple products	Food Apfelküchle Apple butter Apple cake Apple cheese Apple chip Apple cider vinegar Apple crisp Apple dumpling Apple flour Apple pie Apple sauce Apple seed oil Apple strudel Apples and honey Baked apple Brown Betty Candy apple Caramel apple Eve's pudding Himmel und Erde Jewish apple cake Pectin Drink Apfelwein Apple cider Apple juice Applejack Calvados Cider Ice cider Pommeau
Agriculture	Apple picking Apple scab Applecrab Arctic Apples Fruit tree pruning Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Johnny Appleseed Malling series Malus Pearmain Pollination Pome PRI disease resistant apple breeding program Reinette Russeting USApple Association Lists Countries by apple production Apple diseases
Notableindividual apples	Apple of Discord Apples in mythology Forbidden fruit Golden apple Isaac Newton's apple tree
Apples Cultivars Production