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What is your favourite apple story? There are so many myths and legends to choose from. From the biblical Adam and Eve and their tale of man’s fall from grace caused by the forbidden fruit, to the story of Snow White who bit into the poisoned apple but was saved by a kiss. Then there were the golden apples of Greek mythology, kept in a garden at the edge of the world and guarded by nymphs and a serpent-dragon. They were said to confer immortality and stealing them was one of the labours of Hercules. A different apple called the ‘Apple of Discord’, sparked the Trojan War way back in the Bronze Age.I began to wonder why it is that the apple has attracted such a prominent place in European tradition, folk tales and legends. Why was the apple the one thing in the Garden of Eden that must not be eaten? You will have noticed that in your fruit bowl, an apple will long outlast a plum or an imported banana. I know from experience that if you store hand-picked apples in a shed, assuming that shed is frost-free and rat-proof, then those apples can keep for at least four months. This means that in the old days, people could still be eating fruit in the depths of winter when other fresh produce was long gone. This could have made them seem quite magical with the power of defying time.
Apples grow over a wide geographical area so they are familiar to many different societies. In fact, we’re sure that apples have been associated with man for thousands of years. For example, apple slices were found on a saucer left in a royal tomb dating back to 2500 BC, this was in ancient Mesopotamia, now southern Iran. Apples feature in ancient Greek and Roman writing, and those civilizations both planted apple trees throughout their lands as their vast empires spread.
The apple is so versatile, providing both food and drink. The fruit can be eaten raw, preserved or cooked in many different ways. The juice can be fermented and turned alcoholic in the form of wine or cider, or simply bottled fresh as a healthy non-alcoholic drink. It is hard to think of another crop which could be used and celebrated in quite the same way.
If you were a child in the late-1950s, you may remember the black and white TV show about William Tell the Swiss folk hero who shot an apple off the top of his son’s head. This turns out to be a recurring legend found in Germanic folklore, which was first recorded in the twelfth century. Since writing this, I find there is a new film available as a ‘Sky Cinema Premiere’ called ‘William Tell’. It is described as a rowdy period romp and stars Claes Bang who scared me to death as Dracula in the series on TV in 2020. Despite Jonathan Pryce and Ben Kingsley having parts as well, I’ll probably give it a miss, but it does demonstrate how these stories can survive down the centuries. Even Snow White, made famous by Walt Disney, was originally a medieval fairy story.
Nearer to home in Somerset, Glastonbury is also known as the Isle of Avalon which translates as the Isle of Apples. One story recounts how Joseph of Arimathea chose this place to hide the Holy Grail after the crucifixion, having previously visited Glastonbury with the young Jesus. There are also the many tales of King Arthur and Guinevere, including that Arthur was buried in Avalon after his last battle.
Norse mythology has its share of apple legends too: here the gods ate special apples as they began to age and they became young again. Interesting to read that there are three compounds found in apples (antioxidants, acetylcholine and quercetin since you ask) that are good for the aging brain. And of course, we all know that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’. Another version is ‘To eat an apple before going to bed, makes the doctor beg for his bread’.
On the other hand, as well as being the proper Latin name for the apple tree, ‘Malus’ can also mean bad, evil or harmful. Not something you would choose as part of a healthy lifestyle – but perhaps this is merely a coincidence. However, the apple certainly has its darker side. In psychology the apple has a dual symbolism, representing both knowledge and temptation. Jung’s idea of the ‘collective unconscious’ suggests how a single symbol like the apple can carry ideas across different cultures and many centuries of time.
There are various practical uses of apples to be found in the rich folk lore of the British Isles, such as curing chilblains or revealing the name of your husband-to-be. There is a blending of magic and healing here. And then there are the associations of apples with the ceremonies of Halloween or Samhain, and the Wassail. When cut across, the apple reveals a five-pointed star or pentagram and some see this as a symbol of magic. There isn’t room to detail all the many beliefs associated with the apple, as just in this country alone you need to look into British, Celtic and Druid folklore if you would like to explore further.
I mustn’t forget that while sitting beneath an apple tree, it is said that Isaac Newton discovered gravity and the Buddha found enlightenment. Is there any other tree which could claim such significance! Newton lived at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, and that property is now owned by the National Trust. You can visit and see for yourself the ancient apple tree that inspired his theories about gravitational force, way back in the 1660s. A tree that shaped world science and is still alive today. The Buddha’s tree is called a rose-apple tree, and as a child he experienced his first meditation while sitting under it. The memory of this event later became a pivotal moment in his path to enlightenment.
As a symbol familiar to us in more recent times, we first saw the ‘Apple’ label used by the Beatles when they started their own record company in 1968; this was inspired by a surreal Magritte painting. Less than ten years later, Steve Jobs chose a similar design for his Apple computers. His apple had a bite (or byte?) taken out of it, and there is a theory that this references the suspicious death of Alan Turing the computer scientist who had worked at Bletchley Park in WW2. He was found dead with just such an apple beside his bed and cyanide in his bloodstream. The fact that he apparently loved the story of Snow White enhanced this particular modern myth. The following years saw much litigation in the courts between the two Apple companies, concerning trademark violation. It was not until 2007 that the case was finally settled, when it was Jobs who retained all rights to the forbidden fruit. By 2022, Apple had become the most valuable company in the world. Sadly, by then Jobs had been dead for ten years and Magritte for 55 years. (Note, by July 2025, Apple had fallen to third place).
Magritte brings me to art and art history. It is extraordinary to think that apples have appeared from antiquity to modern times, usually painted to convey symbolic meaning – temptation, knowledge, love, beauty, even immortality. They are prominent in religious paintings, depictions of classical mythology, a great variety of still life painting from Victorian to modern times, as well as surrealism. They still give artists inspiration and ideas today.
To finish with, a fun fact that surprised me. An apple’s genome has twice as many genes as a human. Don’t ask me why, but it makes you think.
I’m off to the Orchard to look at the ripening red fruit of the Beauty of Bath trees – early this year – and to take more apple photos on my little pocket device which bears the apple’s own image. Christine Davis 18 July 2025
Updated 25 Nov 2025.
There are various practical uses of apples to be found in the rich folk lore of the British Isles, such as curing chilblains or revealing the name of your husband-to-be. There is a blending of magic and healing here. And then there are the associations of apples with the ceremonies of Halloween or Samhain, and the Wassail. When cut across, the apple reveals a five-pointed star or pentagram and some see this as a symbol of magic. There isn’t room to detail all the many beliefs associated with the apple, as just in this country alone you need to look into British, Celtic and Druid folklore if you would like to explore further.
I mustn’t forget that while sitting beneath an apple tree, it is said that Isaac Newton discovered gravity and the Buddha found enlightenment. Is there any other tree which could claim such significance! Newton lived at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, and that property is now owned by the National Trust. You can visit and see for yourself the ancient apple tree that inspired his theories about gravitational force, way back in the 1660s. A tree that shaped world science and is still alive today. The Buddha’s tree is called a rose-apple tree, and as a child he experienced his first meditation while sitting under it. The memory of this event later became a pivotal moment in his path to enlightenment.
As a symbol familiar to us in more recent times, we first saw the ‘Apple’ label used by the Beatles when they started their own record company in 1968; this was inspired by a surreal Magritte painting. Less than ten years later, Steve Jobs chose a similar design for his Apple computers. His apple had a bite (or byte?) taken out of it, and there is a theory that this references the suspicious death of Alan Turing the computer scientist who had worked at Bletchley Park in WW2. He was found dead with just such an apple beside his bed and cyanide in his bloodstream. The fact that he apparently loved the story of Snow White enhanced this particular modern myth. The following years saw much litigation in the courts between the two Apple companies, concerning trademark violation. It was not until 2007 that the case was finally settled, when it was Jobs who retained all rights to the forbidden fruit. By 2022, Apple had become the most valuable company in the world. Sadly, by then Jobs had been dead for ten years and Magritte for 55 years. (Note, by July 2025, Apple had fallen to third place).
Magritte brings me to art and art history. It is extraordinary to think that apples have appeared from antiquity to modern times, usually painted to convey symbolic meaning – temptation, knowledge, love, beauty, even immortality. They are prominent in religious paintings, depictions of classical mythology, a great variety of still life painting from Victorian to modern times, as well as surrealism. They still give artists inspiration and ideas today.
To finish with, a fun fact that surprised me. An apple’s genome has twice as many genes as a human. Don’t ask me why, but it makes you think.
I’m off to the Orchard to look at the ripening red fruit of the Beauty of Bath trees – early this year – and to take more apple photos on my little pocket device which bears the apple’s own image. Christine Davis 18 July 2025
Updated 25 Nov 2025.
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