Whatever you Do, Don't Touch the Apple

I was reading Corrie's blog titled "Paradise Lost and Fairy Tales," in which she suggests the similarities between evil witches tempting vulnerable individuals with objects and Satan/Adam/Eve of Paradise Lost.
Link: http://paradiselostcommonplace.blogspot.com/2008/10/paradise-lost-and-fairy-tales.html

Though I think Corrie has several good points, I also find it fascinating that in many fairy tales, the APPLE has been a common item used for temptation. Since Genesis was probably written before these Fairy Tales, I'd say its safe to assume that the use of an apple may be based on the story of Adam and Eve.

What I am wondering is, why on earth (or paradise for that matter) would you ever pick an apple to tempt someone with? Perhaps it is the ripeness of the perfect skin of an apple, or maybe the anticipation of mouth watering, savory fruit juice...
Either way, it's somewhat interesting that the apple is used. After all, why not a banana? Or a kiwi? Maybe a papaya?
I don't seem to have an answer for this.

I reread Genesis and I came to the realization that there was no mention of an apple. It was always referred to as "the fruit." It is rather surprising that the assumption is indeed an apple. So many fairy tales and stories rely on the apple, yet, Genesis does not even mention what the fruit is. In a book I found online, Apples: The Story of the Fruit of Temptation by Frank Browning, it briefly states that apples had different roles in different religions and cultures. For example, Egyptians gave apples to their high priestess as a gift. According to the author, "no one thought to hang them on the tree of knowledge until the fourth or fifth century AD, when apple trees began appearing in woodcuts and ecclesiastical drawings." (Browning, 65). In the Eastern Church, the forbidden fruit was figs, whereas other churches argued that grapes were the forbidden fruit.

The apple is also seen in Norse mythology, suggested as a fruit that brings immortality and perpetual youth. After further research that consisted of trying to find scholarly articles in between articles about Apple Store and cooking books, I was able to find another book titled, The Story of the Apple. This book, besides addressing the history of the apple, discusses how iconic the apple has become and perhaps always been, in society.

The author, Barrie Juniper, says that it is not just Adam and Eve who are associated with the apple. In fact, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite, is known to carry an apple in her hands. Interestingly enough, the golden apple of Aphrodite has a huge impact on her story. It is said that on the wedding day, the Goddess of discord, Eris, wanted to ruin the wedding. She rolled a golden apple into the wedding halll with an inscription that said, "To the Fairest." The three goddesses wanted Zeus to decide which one of them should be able to get the apple, but instead, sent them to Troy to see Paris. Aphrodite, picked as one of the three fair Goddesses, told Paris that if he picked her as the most fairest, than she would give him a beautiful woman (who was Helen at the time) to have as his wife**. Paris gave Aphrodite the apple, and she is blamed to have started the Trojan war because of Paris's desire for Helen (Browning, 137). What is interesting is that the apple plays a role of temptation in this myth too. It tempts Aphrodite because she wants the title of being the most fair, but is also helps to tempt Paris. The downfall of receiving the apple is the start of the Trojan war, suggesting that the apple itself is a forbidden fruit.

Jupiter also mentions stories that include the apple such as the story of Muhammad, who inhaled eternal life through the scent of an apple, and the story of The Arabian Nights where a prince buys a magic apple that cures all diseases. Other writers, such as Michael Drayton and Andrew Marvel, refer to apples in their poetry and nature scenes (Juniper, 138). I am still researching this history as I have had some trouble finding really good sources, but I think it is rather fascinating how the apple has so many uses and meanings, especially among different religions and cultures. It is also used in sayings such as "the apple of one's eye." The apple represents many things: temptation, the fall, love, immortality, and beauty. Other symbols however, like the rose, are limited in what they are associated with. It's interesting to see how people come up with these associations, and how the apple has had an impact on so many stories today.

Even Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett mention the apple in their novel, "Good Omens." At the end of the book, this quote helped strike my interest in the apple: "And there was never an apple, in Adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it" (398). (I'm still analyzing this quote). Somehow I seem to think that people who added apples into myths didn't disagree with Adam's view.

I suppose no one knows for sure who decided that the apple brought about Adam's and Eve's fall, but one thing I do know for certain is that if I had been the one to decide on the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, I definitely would have made it the papaya. After all, no one ever suspects the papaya...




Browning, Frank. Apples: The Story of the Fruit of Temptation. Macmillan, 1999.

Juniper, Barrie. The Story of the Apple. Timber Press, 2006.

**Some basic information gathered from Wikipedia