When life gives you apples
Apples appear throughout numerous world religions and mythologies as a common symbol and motif. It is important to note though that in Middle English as late as the 17th century, the word ‘apple’ was used as a generic term to describe all fruit other than berries, so the appearance of apples in ancient writings may not actually be the apples known today.
The etymology of 'apple' is an interesting one. That aside, Greek mythology presents several notable apples: the Golden Apples in the Garden of Hesperides, different golden apples associated with Atalanta, and of course the golden Apple of Discord.
Apple plays a major role in mythology and religion. It is also the symbol of the world-famous iPhone. Strange superstitions are also connected to the apple, but first, let us look at the apple's symbolism.
The apple symbolizes youth, immortality, and love. This fruit is also associated with forbidden knowledge and the Tree of Knowledge.
Many also associate the apple with temptation or with health. We are familiar with the famous proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”.
In Chinese, the word for apple is píng guǒ. In China, the apple is associated with peace. This is because the word peace in Chinese is hé píng.
In Ancient Greece, apples were given as a sign of love. The apple was sacred to the goddess Aphrodite who was the goddess of love.
In Norse mythology, the apple was sacred to Idunn, the goddess of lovers.
There are tons of pictures and stories of students gifting their teacher an apple. This is a symbol of gratitude for the knowledge received. The apple is highly associated with teachers.
The theory of gravitation is linked to Isaac Newton and the apple falling down from an apple tree.
Many also link the apple to temptation and deception. This is illustrated in the Grimm fairy tale “Snow White and the seven dwarfs”.
The Apple of Discord
Probably the most famous of Greek mythology's apples is the Apple of Discord, which was a golden apple that indirectly started the Trojan War.
Eris, the goddess of discord had not been invited to the wedding of Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. She became enraged, stormed into the wedding feast, and threw a golden apple onto the table, professing that it belonged to whoever was fairest with an inscription saying such on it. Among the guests were the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all reached for the fruit. They reach the father of Gods Zeus to make a decision about who is more suitable to take it. The powerful God had to pick between his wife, his daughter, and a fellow Goddess, in which no matter who he may choose there would be a problem with the other two remainings.
So Zeus decided that the fairest man alive was Paris of Troy, who would be the judge of the contest and determine who received the fruit. (History's very first beauty contest)
Paris was unable to make a decision, so the goddesses started to bribe him
Hera offered to grant him political power and a throne of all Greece if he picked her.
Athena offered him wisdom and skills in battle and become a brilliant strategic mind like none other ever lived. And Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman alive, which would be also his own soulmate. He chose Aphrodite to receive the apple and she told him that Helen of Sparta would be his wife.
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| 'The fated apple of choice" by Orpheus Paxlapis - Nov 22 From left to right Viktor Savior - Tara Paxlapis Savior - Orpheus Paxlapis Savior - Elodia |
Unfortunately, there was a tiny problem already, Helen was already the wife of King Menelaus and thus sparked the famous Trojan War.
Which Goddess would you choose if you could?
A brief summary of the Tjoan war
The Trojan War can be said to have started shortly after the abduction of Helen by the Trojan prince Paris. Helen’s jilted husband Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor, and Ajax, and accompanied by a fleet of more than a thousand ships from throughout the Hellenic world. They crossed the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor to lay siege to Troy and demand Helen’s return by Priam, the Trojan king.
The siege, punctuated by battles and skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly-invincible Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. The wooden horse was designed to be hollow in the middle so that soldiers could hide inside of it. After much debate (and unheeded warnings by Priam’s daughter Cassandra), the Trojans pulled the mysterious gift into the city. When night fell, the horse opened up and a group of Greek warriors, led by Odysseus, climbed out and sacked Troy from within in that way the Greeks were able to destroy the city of Troy and win the war.
The surviving Greek heroes learned the hard way that gods never forget and hardly forgive because even though they were victorious in the war, most of them were punished for their transgressions. In fact, only a handful of Greek soldiers made it back home, and that’s with several adventures and exploits along the way. Even fewer were welcomed back to their homes because they were killed by their loved ones or were exiled into oblivion – there were some cases where both incidents happened.
The Trojan War was huge and important in Greek mythology. It was important because it’s the earliest recorded myth that we have that was written down, and it set the stage for the Odyssey and the Illiad.
The symbolism of the Myth
The root of the conflict was ultimately Eris not being included. She simply then took advantage of the vanity of the other three. The fair Paris wanted the most beautiful wife, and his own greed regarding the matter made the problem exponentially worse. The rejected Hera and Athena were jealous and involved themselves in the war as well.
As a side note, the big irony was that the result of the wedding that Eris didn't invite to, a baby boy was born from this union that would be the greatest Hero of that war. Achilles
The symbolism of all of these apples tends to be along the same grain. The apples are all associated somewhat with negative human tendencies.
Deepest beliefs of the apples
A lust for the impossible or transitory (immortality and beauty) is also a common element of the fruit’s symbolism. The fact that all of the mythological apples are golden gives them an apparent material value because gold is a precious metal, tying them again to greed. They are all desirable fruits, but ones that should not be sought after. It is interesting to consider though again that none of these fruit in question were necessarily apple
Apple in the expression of affection and love
It gives new meaning to “How do you like them apples?” But in ancient Greece, this was a valid display of affection for someone. Why? I’m glad you asked!
The apple thereafter was considered sacred to Aphrodite, and to throw an apple at someone was symbolic of a declaration of love. Also, to catch the thrown apple was a sign of your acceptance of that love. Plato proved this by stating: "I throw the apple at you, and if you are willing to love me, take it and share your girlhood with me; but if your thoughts are what I pray they are not, even then take it, and consider how short-lived is beauty."
— Plato, Epigram VII
In many cases, an apple was offered as a wedding proposal between lovers to make their relationship official in the public. The apple was also considered to bring abundance and fertility. It was customary on the wedding night for the bride to eat an apple, ensuring sexual desire, fertility to birth children, and abundance within the marriage.
So there you have it! Leave it to the ancient Greeks to put meaning in throwing fruit at one another. I say we bring this tradition back, just please don’t hurt anyone with surprise apple throws! Make sure they are aware so they can catch it and reciprocate your affection
The Apple and Paganism
Hidden within the apple we find a powerful symbol; the pentagram. Most people miss this as they cut the apple from top to bottom.
Try cutting your apple across the “equator” and a perfect pentagram formed by the seeds will reveal itself.
In Ancient Greece, the goddess of health was named Hygeia. She is recognized in statues as the goddess who is either drinking from a jar or more often with a large snake wrapped around her. Hygeia had the pentagram as her symbol.
The Pythagoreans (followers of the great Pythagoras of Samos, born 570 B.C.) named the pentagram “health”.
The pentagram was also a symbol of higher knowledge.
In Christianity, this symbol is associated with the five wounds of Jesus and also with the star of Bethlehem. In both cases, it must be shown with one point facing upwards and two points down.
Reversed with two points upwards it symbolizes the horns of a goat and evil.
The apple is a symbol of love, fertility, knowledge, and abundance in paganism. Apples are associated with the Goddess Aphrodite and any Goddess of Fertility. The apple tree is considered a tree of knowledge. Many plant apple trees as shrines to these Goddesses and for the fruit, it bears both literally and figuratively. Apples are believed in general to be one of the most giving fruits from Mother Earth.
Apples can be used for a variety of rituals and intentions: those that honor Goddesses of love and fertility, love rituals, asking for abundance, acquiring knowledge, or foretelling the future. In rituals apple seeds or bark from the tree may be ground up and used as incense, the peelings of an apple may also be burned during rituals. Apple juice can be imbibed, shared from a ritual cup, or even eaten. Often times an apple will be cut horizontally to expose the seed cavity which opens up into a five-pointed star.
There is a belief (and not only among pagans) that one way to discover the first letter of your true love's name is to peel an apple with a knife, keeping it as long as possible and in one piece. When the piece breaks off toss it to the floor and see what letter it closely resembles. You can also say each letter of the alphabet as you are peeling and if or when it breaks off, the letter you were on is the first letter of your love's name.
Apples in Christianity
Even though the Bible does not mention specifically the apple, it has become the fruit most people associate with the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.
The story is told in Genesis chapter 3. The serpent temps Eve to eat fruit from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is the only tree God had forbidden them to touch. Eve ate the fruit and offered some to Adam. He also ate. As a consequence, they gained knowledge of good and evil and were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
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| The Virgin and Child under an Apple Tree Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472-1553 |
The apple is used as a Christmas tree decoration by many in Northern Europe. It symbolizes this creation story, but also that Jesus delivered his believers from sin.
Jesus holding an apple or by an apple tree symbolizes that he is the “Second Adam” who brings redemption and life.
The lump in the neck is commonly known as “Adam’s Apple” and is associated with the Bible story. It was the Danish physician Thomas Bartholin (1616 –1680) who wrote an explanation in his book, Anatomia:
“The common people have a belief, that by the judgment of God, a part of that fatal Apple, abode sticking in Adam's Throat, and is so communicated to his posterity” – Thomas Bartholin
The Apple of My Eye
We have all heard the expression “The apple of my eye”. The meaning is someone or sometimes a thing that is valued or loved more than anyone or anything else. It often refers to someone’s favorite person. As you probably realize “the apple” is the pupil of the eye.
Show your Love by sharing an Apple
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