Apples appear in myths across various cultures, often symbolizing love, temptation, knowledge, and immortality. In Celtic myth, they are associated with the Otherworld and divine gifts, while in Greek myth, they represent discord and the consequences of temptation. The apple also appears in Norse myth, where they are the source of the gods' youth. A closer look...
Celtic Mythology:
Apples are often depicted as divine gifts from the gods, offering a connection to the Otherworld and providing sustenance and eternal life. In Irish mythology, the island of Emain Ablach is a mythical place where apple trees flower and fruit simultaneously.


Allantide, meaning first day of winter, is a Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on the night of October 31. One of the most important parts of this festival was the giving of Allan apples, large glossy red apples that were highly polished, to family and friends as tokens of good luck. Allan apple markets used to be held throughout West Cornwall in the run up to the celebration, and in the town of St Just it surpassed Christmas as a time for giving gifts until the late 20th century. A game was also recorded in which two pieces of wood were nailed together in the shape of a cross. It was then suspended, with 4 lit candles on each arm and Allan apples suspended underneath. The aim being to catch the apples with your mouth without getting molten wax on your face. For unmarried recipients the apples would be placed under their pillows in the hope that they would bring dreams of their future wife or husband.
The acquisition of the Silver Branch, a silver apple branch with white blossoms, is the incident which sends the eponymous hero Bran mac Febail on a journey to the Otherworld.
A magical silver branch with three golden apples belonged to the sea deity Manannán mac Lir and was given to the high king Cormac mac Airt. The branch created magical relaxation music that assuaged those afflicted with injury or illness to sleep. In the Irish tale Echtra Condla, Conle the son of Conn is fed an apple by a fairy lover, which sustains him in terms of food and drink for a month without diminishing; but it also makes him long for the woman and the beautiful country of women to which his lover is enticing him.
In the Arthurian legends, the island of Avalon is considered the Isle of Apples, and its very name, originally Welsh, refers to the fruit. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini describes the enchanted isle as being populated by many apple trees. Avalon from its first inception was considered the home of the magical Morgan le Fay, her sisters, and their mystical practices.
After being killed by brigands, the Breton pseudo-saint Konorin was transformed into a mysterious apple which, when eaten by a young virgin, causes her impregnation and his rebirth as the "son of the apple, the fruit of wisdom".
Greek Mythology:
The Golden Apple of Discord, thrown by Eris, the goddess of discord, ignited a dispute among the goddesses, ultimately leading to the Trojan War. The huntress Atalanta was defeated in a foot race by dropping golden apples, illustrating the allure and consequences of temptation.
The Garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the west, where either a single apple plant or a grove grows, producing golden apples. According to legend, when the marriage of Zeus and Hera took place, the different deities came with nuptial presents, and among them Gaia, with branches bearing golden apples upon them as a wedding gift. The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally picked apples from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard.
In the myth of the Judgement of Paris, it was from the Garden that Eris, the goddess of discord, obtained the Apple of Discord. Eris became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed "Kallisti" -- for the most beautiful one, into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris of Troy was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the Trojan War.
The Greek hero Heracles, as a part of his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center.
Atalanta, also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes, who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples (gifts of Aphrodite, the goddess of love) to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was finally successful, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.
Norse Mythology:
The goddess Idun is the guardian of golden apples that keep the gods young. These apples are a symbol of eternal youth and fertility.
In Norse mythology, Iðunn, the goddess of eternal youth, is the keeper of an eski (a wooden box made of ash wood) full of apples eaten by the gods when they begin to grow old, rendering them young again.
Gangleri (King Gylfi in disguise) states that it seems to him that the gods depend greatly upon Iðunn's good faith and care. Iðunn was once abducted by Þjazi the giant, who used Loki to lure Iðunn and her apples out of Ásgarðr. After borrowing Freyja's falcon skin, Loki liberated Iðunn from Þjazi by transforming her into a nut for the flight back. Þjazi gave chase in the form of an eagle, whereupon reaching Ásgarðr he was set aflame by a bonfire lit by the Æsir.
English scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson notes a connection between apples and the Vanir, a group of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing an instance of eleven golden apples being given to woo the beautiful Gerðr by Skírnir, who was acting as messenger for the god Freyr. There is further connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology when the goddess Frigg sends King Rerir an apple after he prays to Odin for a child, Frigg's messenger (in the guise of a crow) drops the apple in his lap as he sits atop a mound.
Christian Mythology:
The forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden is often depicted as an apple, symbolizing knowledge, temptation, and the fall of humanity.
Though the forbidden fruit in the Book of Genesis is not identified, popular Christian tradition holds that Adam and Eve ate an apple from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. The unnamed fruit of Eden thus became an apple under the influence of the story of the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man, and sin. There is nothing in the Bible to show the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge was necessarily an apple.
The larynx in the human throat has been called Adam's apple because of the folk tale, recorded in the 17th century, that the bulge was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of Adam.
The Apple Tree Man:
In English folklore, the Apple Tree Man is the name given to the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. Tales about the Apple Tree Man were collected by the folklorist Ruth Tongue in the cider-producing county of Somerset. In one story a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard on Christmas Eve (a reflection of the custom and ritual of apple wassailing). He is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold, more than enough to pay his rent.
In another tale, a farm cat was curious to explore some fields that people avoided working because they were haunted by ghosts and witches. She set out one day and got as far as the orchard when the Apple Tree Man cautioned her to go back home, because folks were coming to pour cider for his roots and shoot guns to drive away the witches. He persuaded her not to go wandering around at night until St. Tibb's Eve, and she never did because she did not know when St. Tibb's Eve was, nor did anyone else.
Superstitions & Folklore about the apple:
Apples are widely tied to superstitions and folklore across various cultures. They are often associated with love, fertility, and immortality, with beliefs about their ability to influence relationships, harvests, and even lifespan. Apples have also been linked to divination, magic, and even the afterlife. A closer look...
Love and Relationships
Confessing Love:
Throwing an apple at someone was a traditional way of expressing love in some cultures. If the recipient caught it, it implied a mutual affection.
Promoting Friendship:
Sharing an apple was believed to strengthen bonds of friendship.
Health and Well-being
Health and Immortality:
In Greek and Norse mythology, golden apples were sought after for their ability to grant health, eternal youth, and immortality.
Protection Against Lightning:
Planting an apple tree near a home was believed to offer protection from lightning strikes.
Removing Plaque:
In some folklore, apples were thought to remove plaque between teeth, though this was later attributed to the acidity of the apple.
Forbidden Fruit and Sin
Knowledge and Sin:.
The apple is strongly associated with the "forbidden fruit" in the story of Adam and Eve, representing knowledge, temptation, and sin.
Withered Apple:
Danish folklore suggests that a withered apple indicates the presence of an adulterer.
Other Superstitions
Apples have been associated with various superstitions and folklore. For example, some beliefs suggest that an apple tree can protect a house from lightning, or that cutting down an apple tree brings bad luck.
In North America a Native American is called an "apple", a slur that stands for someone who is red on the outside, white on the inside, primarily by other Native Americans to indicate someone who has lost touch with their cultural identity.
First used in the 1980s. During the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat apples dipped in honey to evoke a "sweet new year".
In the United States, teachers used to commonly receive gifts of apples, as the community was expected to both provide housing and food for them, because teachers were often unmarried women. The symbol of an apple is still strongly associated with teachers to this day, with apples being a popular theme for gifts and awards given to exemplary teachers.
Apple Blossoms:
In some cultures, bringing apple blossoms indoors was believed to bring sickness.
Protection Against Lightning:
Lighting never splits an apple tree trunk, as it is believed to be protected by love.
Dreams:
Dreaming about apples was thought to foretell a long life.
Ozark Apple Folklore:
A bad woman can’t make good applesauce.
A goiter can be removed or reduced by rubbing it with half an apple, burying it in the cemetery, then eating the other half.
Two apple seeds, named for a boy and a girl, dropped onto a hot shovel can predict love. If they move closer together, they will marry; if they move apart, the love will not last.
Apples which fall in moonlight get soft-rot, while apples falling during a dark moon get dry-rot.
If you want your next calf to be a female, bury the placenta from the most recent calf birth under an apple tree.
Girls eat the first apple of June and count the seeds to see how many children they will have.
Eating "twinned" apples is said to cause twin births.
Rubbing a piece of apple over a newborn’s tongue ensures that they will have a beautiful singing voice.
Apple peels, especially those in June, can be rubbed on the face to improve your complexion.
Eating an apple on an empty stomach on Easter ensures good health.
Menstrual flow can be regulated by boiling the inner bark (or cambium) of an apple tree.
If you always burn your apple peelings you will never have cancer
The Apple Tree & the Peahens
An emperor's golden apple tree was robbed every night, and his sons set themselves to watch it. The older two slept, but the youngest stayed awake. Nine peahens arrived. Eight rifled the tree, while the ninth came down beside the emperor's youngest son and became a beautiful maiden.
Sources:
Recommended reading:
Appalachian Folklore:
Omens, Signs & Superstitionsby Nancy Richmond
at Amazon
Ozark Magic & Folklore
by Vance Randolf