∗ The apple appears throughout mythology as a symbol of desire and temptation. This may have its roots in stories about Aphrodite, goddess of love and marriage, who was presented in several occasions in art holding an apple. The myth of Atalanta further contributes to this idea. The fleet-footed maiden, told by an oracle that she would die if she wed, refused to marry unless the suitor could beat her in a foot race. Hippomenes bested Atalanta with the help of Aphrodite, who provided him with three golden apples. Stopping to collect the baubles lobbed in her path each time she took the lead cost Atalanta her maidenhood.

∗ The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, started the Trojan War with an apple. Miffed at having not been invited to a wedding, she tossed among the guests a golden apple inscribed “To the fairest.” To put an end to the squabbling among their goddesses who each felt deserving of the apple, the mortal Paris chose Aphrodite the winner of what was probably the first beauty contest. Rejected, Hera and Athena wreaked havoc on Paris and his family, eventually leading to the Trojan War.

∗ The apple also appears as a symbol of the sun´s life-giving warmth in many cultures´ legends. Apple trees were sacred to the sun god Apollo; in fact, the name Apollo comes from the same root as the modern English word apple. The Celts revered the then-unknown Britain as a happy kingdom of the sun called the Isle of Apples, or Avalon, and it was here than King Arthur supposedly went to spend eternity.