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The Apple in Literature

Temptation, Sin & Knowledge

The story of Helen Troy, by the author o... (by Constance Cary Harrison)
The Trojan war [the story of the Iliad] ... (by Carl Witt)
Atalanta in Calydon. A Tragedy (by Swinburne, Algernon Charles)
The Twelve Labours of Hercules, Son of J...
Idunn : Vol. 1 Volume Vol. 1
The Poetic Edda (by Bellows, Henry Adams)
The Prose Edda (by Snorri Sturluson, 1179?-1241)
The Life and Art of Albrecht Durer
Titian (by Bensusan, Samuel Levy)
The Work of Michelangelo (by Knapp, Fritz)
Paradise Lost (by Milton, John)
The story of Conn-Eda : or, The golden a... (by O'Kearney, Nicholas, translator)

Since ancient times, apples have symbolized the best and worst of human traits. They lure and tempt, they imbue knowledge and shame, they confer love and fertility. Although an apple a day may keep the doctor away, the fruit has been a point of contention for ages.

The Trojan War

According to Greek lore, the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all vied for the appellation of fairest of them all. They settled on Paris to decide who among them qualified for that honor. Paris, however, accepted Aphrodite’s bribe—the love of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world—and awarded the goddess of love the golden apple. Aphrodite kept her end of the bargain, giving Helen to Paris, and thereby igniting the infamous Trojan War.

The Lost Race

Again in Greek mythology, apples feature in trickery. The lost Arcadian princess of King Iacus, Atalanta dedicated herself to the goddess Artemis and took an oath of virginity. Having none of that when he could better use her to secure an advantageous match, her father held a race in which the winner would marry Atalanta. The losers would be killed. Knowing Atalanta to be faster than he, Hippomenes begged a favor of the goddess Aphrodite, who saw nothing wrong with deceit. She handed Hippomenes three golden apples, which he then tossed during the race to win Atalanta. Distracted by chasing after the apples, Atalanta lost the race and married Hippomenes.

It wasn’t a happy or lasting union.

Apples of Immortality

Norse mythology credits the everlasting youth of the Aesir to the magical golden apples of Idunn, who maintained her orchard in Asgard. According to legend, the Nordic gods must return to her orchard and eat the apples to maintain their immortality. In the Poetic Edda, Loki accuses Idunn of having slept with her brother’s killer as part of his quest to gain control of the orchard and condemn the Aesir to death. In the Prose Edda, Loki lures her away from the orchard and turns her into a nut, thereby depriving the Aesir of their immortality.

Forbidden Fruit

Enduring portrayal in Christian tradition of the forbidden fruit as an apple may harken from confusion between the Latin word malus, which means both apple and evil, thereby giving rise to the early Christian notion that the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was indeed an apple. Artists such as Albrecht Durer, Lucas Cranach, Titian, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio portray Adam and Eve with apples at the moment they doom humanity to sin. In Paradise Lost by John Milton also names the apple as the downfall of mankind.

Fairy Tales

In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the wicked witch uses an apple to poison her nemesis until true love’s first kiss wakes her from a deep sleep. In Romanian folklore, Praslea the Mighty defeats a dragon that steals golden apples from the king’s orchard. The Conn-eda includes a Celtic folk tale about the golden apples of the fairy folk. In Russia, a fairy tale Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird, and the Gray Wolf centers upon the theft of golden apples.

By Karen M. Smith