Some say Eve bit into one; otherwise, it may have been a quince. Perhaps these were lemons that Hera was given as a wedding present. All youngsters have a deep and abiding affection for apples, and this is one of those earliest & most natural of tendencies we develop.
Before the Romans invaded Britain and brought apple horticulture with them, we already had it down in the Swiss lake homes by the year 3000 BCE. Spaniards were responsible for introducing apples to México and South America. The first apple trees in America were planted by the Plymouth colonists. It’s undeniably a well-liked fruit.
Atlanta, a character from Greek mythology, would only marry a man who could beat her in a footrace. Milanion, one of the suitors, achieved this by throwing three golden apples (presents from the Goddess for Love) during the competition. Atlanta slowed down to pick her up, ended up losing the race, and eventually married him. To make a proposal for a lady in ancient Greece, one need simply throw her an apple. He would have known she accepted his offer if she snagged it. (In medieval Germany, if a man ate a fallen apple that had been soaked in the sweat of the lady he loved, he would be successful in wooing her.)
Goddess of Discord Eris became upset when she was not invited attend the wedding of an identical god and goddess in another Greek story. She threw a golden apple throughout the room, inscribed with the words “For the fairest.” Three deities were confident in their own greatness. Paris, an ordinary person, was asked to decide who was right in order to halt the fighting. One of the gods of love was the one he choose. The spurned goddesses, Hera and Athena, were enraged and wrecked havoc on Paris and his loved ones. That, of course, foreshadowed the eventual destruction of Troy.
The Sibyl advised Aeneas that taking the fruit on the golden branch into and out of the underworld was the only way to ensure his safety as he traveled from Troy to Italy. Given that Diana was worshiped as a deity in Nemi, the golden branch probably consisted of apples.
Iduna, Bragi the Poet’s wife, was a goddess in Teutonic mythology, associated with youth and beauty and the protector of the “bronze apples.” The gods could always stay youthful by sampling one of them apples whenever they sensed the onset of old age. A giant stole her with Loki’s help, and the gods suddenly began to age. Loki was assigned to safeguard her in the hopes that she may once again restore youth.
The Welsh language for apple, afal (pronounced aval), is the basis for the name of the Island of Avalon. The terminally wounded Arthur is carried to the island of Avalon, where the sun always shines, the air is always pleasant, the land is covered with verdant greenery, and the people never get old or become hurt.
Apples may range from soft and juicy to crisp and tart to sweet. The beauty of the peach is that its flavor changes from year to year and even form the same apple tree another apple tree, depending on the growth circumstances.
Grab an apple and go outside. In a word, yes. Don’t forget Horace’s words of wisdom: “Whatever type of apple you consume food, to get the greatest you ought to buy those that were picked with the light emanating from the waning moon.”