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Apples
Introduction
Doing a whole page just on apples might seem like a trivial
thing; but you have no idea how such an important role apples have played in
human history all the way back to Adam and Eve, and in mythologies all around
the planet. And today, the production of apples for human and animal
consumption is up to 93 million metric tons worldwide.1 And,
the production of apples is $99 billion-dollar industry.2 What
is it with apples? This page attempts to answer that question.
1. Statista.
2. Mordor.
Table of Contents
All of Leon's pictures may be copied so long as you give
credit to me and link back to this site.
Apples in Mythology and Lore
| Culture |
Apple(s) |
Story behind
it |
| Hebrew |
Eve's Apples:
"EVE" by Leon and A.I.
|
While the Bible does not
explicitly say what kind of fruit it was, tradition has it that it was
an apple. As you know, when Adam and Eve ate of the apple, death
came into the world (i.e., they became mortal); but also they gained
knowledge.
While doing research on the etymological history of the word
"apple", I found that it can be traced back to the
Proto-Indo-European word "abel" (which means "fruit").
And, it got me wondering if there could be any connection with the
Proto-Semitic-Aramaic word "Abel" (brother to Cain). I
could find no such link. The word "Abel" (in the Bible) is the English
transliteration of the Hebrew word "Hebel" (which means breath
of air). And Biblical scholars are now saying that the fruit of
the tree of knowledge probably wasn't an apple at all.
Source: Online
Etymology Dictionary. And, the Bible, of course.
|
| Greek |
Golden apples of
the garden of Hesperides.
"LADON and the DAUGHTERS of HESPERIDES"
by Leon and A.I.
| 3
DAUGHTERS of HESPERIDES |
| Aigle |
Hespera |
Aerica |
| means: brightness |
means: evening star |
means: air |
| probably symbolizes
the stars |
symbolizes the planet
Venus |
probably symbolizes
the night air |
|
Greek mythology holds that there
was a tree in the garden of Hesperides, which bore golden apples.
The tree was guarded by the dragon Ladon and tended to by the 3
daughters of Hesperides. To the partaker who had
a good soul, the fruit was most sweet, and to the partaker who had a bad
soul, the fruit was most bitter. One version of the story is that the 3 daughters
were the daughters of Atlas;
but I prefer the account that says they are the daughters of Erebus and
Nyx. The reason is that they being the daughters of Erebus and Nyx
make more sense and fits with the whole theme of the end of life.
(1) The name.
The name of the garden Hesperides means: Evening; as in "the
evening of life".
(2) Erebus and Nyx.
Erebus was the god of darkness and Nyx was the goddess of night.
They symbolize the "good night" into which souls go when they
die.
(3) The 3 daughters.
(4) The golden apples.
The golden apples represent judgment at the end of life.
(5) The guardian.
Ladon guards the tree from mortals. Only those who've passed into
the spirit realm may partake. |
| Greek |
Aphrodite's
apples
"APHRODITE" by Leon and A.I.
|
The apple was considered sacred
to Aphrodite; and to throw one to the object of one's affection was to
declare one's love for them.
Source: Wikipedia.
Note: Etymologists say that Aphrodite means seafoam, and
mythology has it that she emerged from the sea. So, why
apples? Well, probably apples were associated with the goddess of
love, because apples themselves have in many cultures been associated
with love.
Learn more about the gods and what they personify on my "Mythology=Science"
page.
|
| Germanic
Norse
|
Iduna's apples
"IDUNNA" by Leon and A.I.
|
Iduna brought apples to the
gods, which kept them youthful-looking. She kept them in a wooden box
made of Ash wood that her husband made.
Other spellings: Idunn, Idunna.
Interestingly, Loki (the personification of entropy and chaos) hired
a Jotun to abduct Iduna and her apples, and the gods all started aging. A
massive hunt for the culprit ensued and when the culprits were found,
they were punished.
|
MORE on the GOLDEN APPLES of HESPERIDES:
Hercules wanted to become a full god, with full immortality, and the
gods gave him 12 labors to complete, afterwhich they would grant him
immortality. One of those labors was to obtain one of the apples
from the tree in the garden of Hesperides. Hercules knew that he
could never defeat Ladon (because Ladon doesn't let living mortals
anywhere near the tree), so he offered to take Atlas' place holding up
the sky while Atlas retrieved an apple for him.
Apple Biology and History
Scientists tell us that apples came from Kazakhstan, and that
the first apples were crab apples. Via the skill road, apples made their
way into all of EurAsia, even into Egypt. Through grafting and
hybridization over many millennia, we get quite a lot of varieties of apples.
Sources: Historic
Sites. / Phys.org.
According to WSU
Tree Fruit, the world now has over 7,500 varieties of apples.
Apple Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily:: Maloideae
Genus: Malus
Species: M. domestica
Source: New
World Encyclopedia.
That's interesting. That means that the apple tree is a
part of the rose family.
Apples to our Health
You've probably heard the saying, "An apple a day, keeps
the doctor away." Well, that just might be true. The following
are ten reasons why that might be true:
(1) NUTRITION:
One medium 7-ounce (oz) or 200 grams (g) apple offers the following nutrients:
Calories: 104
Carbs: 28 g
Fiber: 5 g
Vitamin C: 10% of the RDA
Copper: 6% of the RDA
Potassium: 5% of the RDA
Vitamin K: 4% of the RDA
Vitamins E, B1, and B6: 2-5% of the RDA
(2) May support weight-loss.
(3) Could be good for your heart.
(4) Lower chance of diabetes.
(5) May promote gut health.
(6) Could help fight asthma.
(7) May help protect your brain.
(8) May improve mental health.
(9) May help digestive diseases.
(10) May help prevent cancer.
Source: Healthline.
Apple Linguistics
The word "apple" may come from the Proto-Indo-European
root "abel" which means fruit. It definitely comes from the
Proto-Germanic root "aplaz", and all the Germanic languages all have
cognates. It originally meant "fruit".
So, applying the word "apple" to the new fruit coming
from Kazakhstan via the silk road into the Western nations seems quite
appropriate.
Also, applying the word "apple" to the fruit of the
tree of knowledge in the Bible would also seem appropriate, but it certainly
wasn't the apple that we know today. So, eating apples isn't going to make
you smarter, but eating them might protect the brain from getting dumber. (See
"Health Section" above.
Sources: New
World Encyclopedia. & Online
Etymology Dictionary.
Interestingly the word "apple" has become such a
common fruit that it has entered our lexicon in more ways than one. See my
next section on apple idioms...
Apple Idioms / Proverbs
| Idiom |
Meaning |
Origins |
| The apple of my eye |
one cherished by me |
An Old English saying. |
| The Big Apple |
New York City |
The term was popularized in the 1920s by John
J. Fitz Gerald, a sports news collumnist. It was originally
referring to the prize won at horse-racing events all around the city.
In time, it came to refer the city itself, meaning the biggest and
the best city of all. |
| All it takes is one bad apple to spoil the
whole bunch. |
All it takes is one spoilt child to ruin the
whole class. |
A teaching proverb. |
| The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. |
The biological child doesn't differ much from
the parent. |
Old proverb. |
| apples and oranges |
Two different things (that cannot be
compared). |
When someone tries to compare two things that
are not related, you can say, "You're talking apples and
oranges." |
| How do you like them apples? |
What do you think about that? |
Origin unknown. |
| An apple-polisher |
A student that gives polished apples to
his/her teacher in hopes of gaining favor. |
First seen in 1928 student slang.
Continues to this day.
Source. |
| Upset the apple cart |
Make a social mess. |
It is commonly used this way, "I don't
want to upset the apple cart," meaning one doesn't want to upset
the social/political/ or business order of the day. |
| Road apple |
Horse droppings on the road. |
First seen in 1942. Source. |
| Apple-pie bed |
A childish prank of short-sheeting a bed. |
The term is an old one, coming from 1781.
Source. |
Apple Jokes
Clipart from Clipart
Library.
What is worse than biting into an apple and
finding a worm?
ANSWER: biting into an apple and finding half a
worm.
What do you call a grouchy apple?
ANSWER: a crab apple.
How do you make an apple turn over?
ANSWER: the same way you make an egg roll.
Apple Symbolism
| Symbol |
Meaning |
Origins |
Apple
(as the fruit of the tree of knowledge) |
Symbol of the knowledge of where babies come
from. |
It is commonly thought that the fruit of the
tree of knowledge was a part of an allegory which illustrates how Adam and
Eve learned how to have a baby. |
| Apple Pie
Clipart from Clipart
Library.
|
Symbol of U.S.A. |
The first recipe for apple pie was published in
America in 1796.
When the colonists came to America from Britain, they wanted to
"distance" themselves from British culture as much as possible,
so they invented their own treats. Apple pie was one of them.
The phrase "As American as apple pie," came from the legend
of Johnny Appleseed (who was a real person) in the 1800s.
Source: Better
Homes and Gardens. |
| The Big Apple |
Symbol of New York City. |
The meaning is that New York was the biggest
and best city.
Source: Wikipedia. |
The Golden Apple
(of Hesperides) |
Symbol of judgment |
The idea is that judgment doesn't come from a
god, but from within ourselves. The bite from the golden apple
serves only as a catalyst, and our soul will judge itself. |
Famous Apples
(of history and literature and culture)
| Date / Name |
Place / Origin |
Famous for what? |
4th millennium B.C.
The apple (fruit) of the Tree of Knowledge.
Clipart from Clipart
Library. |
Garden of Eden
|
That apple is infamous for being the thing that caused
the "Fall" of humankind (falling from immortality to mortality).
The story goes that the first two humans (Adam and Eve) were placed in
a garden which had two trees: The Tree of Life and the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve were allowed to eat of
anything edible in the garden except the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil. And, they were warned if they did, they would become
mortal.
The serpent (a speaking reptilian) tempted Eve and she did eat.
Then, she gave it to Adam to eat.
Source: Holy
Bible. |
| 6th century B.C. |
Greece; Aesop's Fables. |
The peasant and the apple
tree.
I won't relate the story here. I'll just give a link to the
story...
Source: Infoplease. |
1307
November 18th
William Tell's Apple
Picture from TV-Tropes.
|
Switzerland |
As far as I can tell, there is a tall tale
about a man named William Tell, who shot an apple off his son's head, and
his son lived to tell about it. (Apparently, it is a true story).
The story goes that William Tell refused to bow down to the Emperor's
hat, and the Emperor had him arrested. When the Emperor realized
that William Tell was a great archer (with crossbow); the emperor offered
William a deal. If you shoot an apple off your son's head, I will
let you go free. So, William agreed, rather than go to jail.
The son was tied a tree and an apple placed upon his head. Then,
William took two arrows from his quiver, and used one to shoot the apple
on his son's head.
When the emperor asked him why he took two arrows out of his quiver,
William replied: "If I had killed my son, the other arrow would
have been for you."
Source: Wikipedia. |
1666
Woolsthorpe Apple
of Sir Isaac Newton
Clipart from Clipart
Library. |
Lincolnshire, England |
That apple is famous for falling on Sir Isaac Newton's
head, inspiring him to investigate the phenomenon of gravity.
Source: University
of York. |
1812
The poisoned apple
that the Evil Queen gave to Snow White.
Clipart from Clipart
Library.
|
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves story. |
The original story was written by the Brothers
Grimm in 1812, and it was entitled: "Snow White".
The poisoned apple is famous for being the enchanted object that was
intended to kill Snow White, but she was protected by her fairy godmother,
and it only put her to sleep until she would be awakened by true love's
kiss.
Source: Wikipedia. |
1964
The Giving Tree's apples.
 |
Shel Silverstein's Book |
The Giving Tree was an apple tree, and she gave
her apples to a boy, so that he could sell them for money. |
1976
Steve and Steve's Apple
|
Cupertino, California |
Steve Wazniak and Steve Jobs started apple
computer company in 1976.
Steve Jobs said that 3 apples have changed the world. The first
was Adam & Eve's apple. The second was the apple that fell on
Newton's head. And the third apple was the one that he and Wazniak
had created.
Source: Medium.
|
2007~
Assassin's
Creed's:
"Apple of Eden"
|
Assassin's Creed Game |
The Isu (and alien race) use the apple of Eden
to control humans.
It has the powers of illusory configuration, and...
Human mind control.
Source: Wiki
Fandom. |
Apple World Records
| World Record |
Date / Place |
More Info. |
Heaviest/Biggest
Apple |
2005 / Hirosaki, Japan |
It was a hybrid of a Crispin apple and a Fuji
apple. It was grown/picked by Crisato Iwasaki. It weighed 4
lbs 1 oz.
Source: A-Z
Animals. |
Smallest
Commercially-available
Apple |
2010 / New Zealand |
Rockit Apples are comparable in size to the
Tiddly Pomme (below) and both come from New Zealand. Or are they
called "Rockits" in the U.S., and "Tiddly Pommes" in
the U.K.? Are they the same apple?
Source: Minnetonka
Orchards. |
Smallest
Commercially-available
Apple |
2013 / New Zealand |
David Cranwell of New Zealand discovered these
tasty little bites by accident. They are called Tiddly Pommes.
They are 42mm in diameter (the size of a golf ball). [Note:
The Rockit claims to be slightly smaller than a golf ball; so would that
make them smaller?]
Source: Huffington
Post. |
Deadliest
Apple in the World
|
Florida / Caribbean |
It is known as the "Death Apple", but
its real name is Manchineel.
The Spaniards, when first arriving in the Caribbean, called these
fruits "Little Apples of Death".
Eating one may not cause you to die, but in theory, it could cause
someone to die. It causes intense swelling and pain to any part of
the body that touches it. Even touching any part of the tree causes
blistering and intense pain.
Are manchineel part of the apple faminly? No. But, they
look very similar to apples and apple trees. Source: Wikipedia. |
Tastiest
Apple in the World |
1997
Washington State University |
That's a matter of taste, but my family's
favorite is the "Cosmic Apple".
It was developed by Washington State University in 1997.
Source: Specialty
Produce.
|
Apple Superstition and Magic
| Country / Culture |
Superstition?
or Magic? |
More Info. |
| UK |
Superstition |
- Share an apple and make a friend.
- Never cut an apple tree for its wood; only burn what has fallen; or bad
luck will ensue.
- If the first apple from a young apple tree is eaten by a woman with many
children, then the tree will have many fruitful seasons.
- A dream with healthy apples foretells long life to the dreamer.
- Don't ever take apple blossoms inside, for they will cause illness to
the household.
Source: South
Devon. |
| UK |
Magic |
- Write a spell. Cut an apple in half and
place the spell inside. Then, plant the apple thusly. When the
apple fully rots, the spell will come to pass.
- Apple blossom is added to love potions/spells.
Source: South
Devon. |
| Ancient Rome |
Superstition |
- If you are single, throw an apple seed into a
fire while saying the name of the one you love. If the apple seed
pops, your love is requited. If the apple seed burns quietly, your
love is unrequited.
Source: Chef's
Pencil. |
| Celtic Tradition |
Superstition |
- If you are single (and female) you could eat
an apple while looking into a mirror; and when done, the image your future
husband should appear in the mirror behind you.
Source: Chef's
Pencil. |
| 19th Cent. USA |
Superstition |
- Cut an apple in half and count the seed you
see. That will tell you how many children you will have.
Source: Chef's
Pencil. |
| Hebrew |
Superstition |
During Rosh Hashanah (New Year of Hebrew
Calendar, which typically is in September), one must eat sliced apples
dipped in honey for a prosperous new year.
Source: Good
Luck Symbols. |
| UK / Ireland |
Lore / Magic |
Finding a bough on an apple tree, with
blossoms, unripe apples and ripe apples was said to be a gateway from/to
the Fairy world.
Source: Greenmanmeadow. |
Apple Traditions
(around the world)
| Country / Culture |
Tradition |
More Info. |
| UK/USA |
Wassailing |
Wassailing was done during the winter solstice
time, since long before Christianity came, but it turned into Christmas
Caroling. The traditional drink of wassailing (and ultimately
Christmas caroling) was hot apple cider. |
| Jewish |
Rosh Hashanah
Traditional food |
At the Jewish New Year, it is traditional to
eat sliced apples dipped in honey, to ensure a prosperous new year.
At Hanukkah, Jews will eat apple sauce.
Source: Ambrosia
Apples. |
| USA |
4th of July
Traditional food.
May 13th
National Apple Pie Day? |
Apparently, it was traditional to eat apple pie
on the 4th of July, because traditionally apple pie was invented to show
that America was different from the U.K. This has fallen out of
tradition, 'cause I don't remember ever eating apple pie on the 4th of
July.
And it seems odd, because the apples wouldn't have been ripe by July
4th, would they have? In my family, apple pie was served as an
alternative to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving (for those who didn't like
pumpkin pie).
Nowadays, May 13th is national apple pie day. (Go figure). |
| Scotland |
Birth of a Boy:
Plant an apple tree. |
The tradition was to plant an apple tree at the
birth of a boy, and a pear tree at the birth of a girl. (Not a
current tradition).
Source: National
Records of Scotland. |
Germany
 |
Christmas
Ornaments |
Apparently, apples were the original Christmas
tree ornaments, either as they were, or wrapped in golden paper.
Source: Ambrosia
Apples.
|
UK
 |
Left-overs for the Pixies.
Halloween
Tradition. |
- Apples left-over from the harvest were left
for the pixies.
See my page on "The
Little People" (from all around the world).
- In Cornwall, people were given Pippin Apples for good luck at
Halloween.
Source: St.
Ives Orchard. |
UK
(especially Ireland).
|
Halloween
Traditions.
(Samhain Traditions)
|
During the holy night of Samhain, it was
traditional to leave apples and pomegranates out for their deceased loved
ones, as it was believed that on that last night of the Celtic year, Hel (Loki's
daughter) would open the gates of the Underworld and allow the spirits of
the dead to roam the Earth for one night.
Source: Greenmanmeadows. |
The End
And, if you liked that, here are my other
"All-About" pages:
All about Cats.
All about Christmas.
(The ancient winter-solstice tradition of Yule).
All about Cryptids.
(Bigfoot, Lake/Sea Monsters, Mermaids, etc.).
All about Dr.
Seuss.
All about Halloween.
{The ancient Celtic tradition of Sam-wHain (Summer Wanes)}.
All about the "Little
People"
(Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Leprechauns, etc.)
All about the Moon.
All about World Mythology.
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English |
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Spanish
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Korean |
Mongolian |
Chinese |
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Parents of
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Halloween
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Thanksgiving
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Winter Solstice
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Christmas
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New Years
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Chinese Lunar
New Year
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Valentine's
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Easter
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All About
Dr. Seuss
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Roald Dahl
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Prepper's
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Ways to
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