Religion and Spirituality
Apple of temptation:
APPLE
Being almost spherical in shape, the apple signifies totality. It is symbolic of earthly desires, or of indulgence in such desires. The warning not to eat the forbidden apple came, therefore, from the mouth of the supreme being, as a warning against the exaltation of materialistic desire. The intellect, the thirst for knowledge— as Nietszche realized— is only an intermediate zone between earthly desire and pure spirituality.
— J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols
Philosophical Library, New York, 1962, p. 14
APPLE:
In Celtic legends apples appear as the fruit of the Otherworld. More specifically, they are associated with the mythical Avalon, the 'Island of Apples'. The otherworldly apple tree was also said to have been the source of the Silver Bough. In Norse tradition the tree bearing the golden apples of immortality was protected by the goddess Idun, whence they were stolen by Loki. The gods began to age, but they recovered the apples just before they were overcome by senility and death. In alchemy, when the alchemist is represented eating an apple at the end of the Great Work, he enjoys the fruit of immortality.
The golden Apples of the Hesperides were a wedding gift to Zeus and Hera from Gaia, the primordial earth goddess. The precious fruit was guarded by a snake or a dragon. Herakles' eleventh labour was to steal the apples, and although he was successful, he followed Athena's instructions and returned them. Eris, "Discord', proffered an apple as a prize for the fairest among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, asking the shepherd Paris to act as a judge. Paris chose Aphrodite, bribed by her promise of Helen of Troy as his reward. The Trojan War was the consequence, and so in Greek myth, apples are associated with temptation, transgression, and the acquisition of success and power.
Jews and Christians also consider that apples symbolize temptation, as well as forbidden wisdom. They are central to the story of Adam and Eve's temptation by the Serpent and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Since the apple is a pagan emblem of immortality, and the serpent a symbol of ancient wisdom, and both were associated with goddesses, this story— which blames woman for the Fall after she was tempted by the serpent with an apple (also a symbol of love)— may have been an attempt to demonize powerful symbols of the old religions which the Jews were struggling to replace. (The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which Adam and Eve ate the fruit, is sometimes considered to have been a fig tree— but both trees are symbols of knowledge).
In Christian art, when Christ or the Virgin hold an apple, they are overcoming evil, redeeming mankind from the first sin symbolized by the apple. But the Old Testament also compares wise words to golden apples, and apples are an ingredient of charoseth, eaten at Passover, representing the clay from which the Israelites slaves made bricks in Egypt.
In China, apple blossom represents feminine beauty. In northern China, the apple is a symbol of Spring. Apples are a good gift, as the word for apple (ping) sounds similar to the word meaning peace. However, apples should not be given to someone who is unwell, as their name also sounds similar to the word for illness (bing).
— Rowena & Rupert Shepherd, 1000 Symbols
Thames & Hudson, London, 2002, p. 255
APPLE
Being almost spherical in shape, the apple signifies totality. It is symbolic of earthly desires, or of indulgence in such desires. The warning not to eat the forbidden apple came, therefore, from the mouth of the supreme being, as a warning against the exaltation of materialistic desire. The intellect, the thirst for knowledge— as Nietszche realized— is only an intermediate zone between earthly desire and pure spirituality.
— J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols
Philosophical Library, New York, 1962, p. 14
APPLE:
In Celtic legends apples appear as the fruit of the Otherworld. More specifically, they are associated with the mythical Avalon, the 'Island of Apples'. The otherworldly apple tree was also said to have been the source of the Silver Bough. In Norse tradition the tree bearing the golden apples of immortality was protected by the goddess Idun, whence they were stolen by Loki. The gods began to age, but they recovered the apples just before they were overcome by senility and death. In alchemy, when the alchemist is represented eating an apple at the end of the Great Work, he enjoys the fruit of immortality.
The golden Apples of the Hesperides were a wedding gift to Zeus and Hera from Gaia, the primordial earth goddess. The precious fruit was guarded by a snake or a dragon. Herakles' eleventh labour was to steal the apples, and although he was successful, he followed Athena's instructions and returned them. Eris, "Discord', proffered an apple as a prize for the fairest among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, asking the shepherd Paris to act as a judge. Paris chose Aphrodite, bribed by her promise of Helen of Troy as his reward. The Trojan War was the consequence, and so in Greek myth, apples are associated with temptation, transgression, and the acquisition of success and power.
Jews and Christians also consider that apples symbolize temptation, as well as forbidden wisdom. They are central to the story of Adam and Eve's temptation by the Serpent and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Since the apple is a pagan emblem of immortality, and the serpent a symbol of ancient wisdom, and both were associated with goddesses, this story— which blames woman for the Fall after she was tempted by the serpent with an apple (also a symbol of love)— may have been an attempt to demonize powerful symbols of the old religions which the Jews were struggling to replace. (The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which Adam and Eve ate the fruit, is sometimes considered to have been a fig tree— but both trees are symbols of knowledge).
In Christian art, when Christ or the Virgin hold an apple, they are overcoming evil, redeeming mankind from the first sin symbolized by the apple. But the Old Testament also compares wise words to golden apples, and apples are an ingredient of charoseth, eaten at Passover, representing the clay from which the Israelites slaves made bricks in Egypt.
In China, apple blossom represents feminine beauty. In northern China, the apple is a symbol of Spring. Apples are a good gift, as the word for apple (ping) sounds similar to the word meaning peace. However, apples should not be given to someone who is unwell, as their name also sounds similar to the word for illness (bing).
— Rowena & Rupert Shepherd, 1000 Symbols
Thames & Hudson, London, 2002, p. 255