golden apple meaning. Apple as a symbol of healthy temptation. Health and wellness apple

Symbolism of the apple

An apple is a symbol of perfection (due to its rounded shape), beauty, a divine gift.
In the biblical tradition, the apple is considered an attribute of paradise before the fall, and therefore acts as a symbol of joy.
During the festive New Year's meal, Jews eat an apple dipped in honey to ensure well-being in the new year.
In Celtic mythology, the Isle of the Blessed Avalon takes its name from the Welsh afal, apple. Among the Slavs, the apple tree symbolizes prosperity.

In China, the apple was associated with peacefulness. In addition, apples have been associated with eternal youth, immortality.
The golden apples of the Hesperides gave eternal youth; a similar ability was attributed to the apples of the Scandinavian goddess Idunn (cf. rejuvenating apples in Russian folklore).

It is also an image of the world (the name of a state, an attribute of supreme power is “a sovereign apple”).
In the mythology of the Balts, the apple is a symbol of the setting sun, one of the incarnations of the goddess Saule.
Frederick Leighton Golden Apples of the Hesperides

The symbolism of the apple involves its color - red, symbolizing physical beauty. Since round shapes are associated with the feminine, the apple gets a sexual connotation; in shape, it is similar to a female breast (cf. in Greek mythology, the apple of Paris with the inscription “the most beautiful”).

Paris was supposed to give the golden apple to the most beautiful of the three goddesses. Each of the goddesses, trying to get this apple, promised Paris: Hera - power over Asia, Athena - military glory and victory, and Aphrodite - the most beautiful of mortal women, Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda. Paris, without thinking twice, gave the apple to Aphrodite. Thus, the most beautiful of the goddesses became the foam-born.


In this regard, the apple can be interpreted broadly as an image of earthly desires; in Christianity, it symbolizes temptation, temptation, forbidden fruit; apple in Latin "malum", like evil. The apple also bears the sign of Adam's fall. The apple tree itself - the emblem of original sin - is dedicated to the Roman goddess Ceres, who sends madness on people.

Boris Godunov introduced into the tsar's everyday life the power, which at that time was called "apple" in our country and in the Commonwealth. The wedding ceremony included not only the presentation of the scepter, but also the powers: “This apple is a sign of your kingdom.
As you hold this apple in your hand, so hold the whole kingdom given to you from God, protecting it from enemies unshakably.
Alexander Voronkov "Apple of Discord"


But Godunov failed to fulfill this covenant. During the XVI-XIX centuries, a lot of luxurious powers were created.
The power of the large outfit of Mikhail Romanov stood out especially. Combination of bright enamels and large precious stones creates a feeling of unusual luxury and splendor.
The apple is divided into two hemispheres. In the upper part, which consists of four parts, there is an image of scenes from the life of King David. The orb or apple was usually held in the right hand.

In the "Song of Songs" there are such lines: "Under the apple tree I woke you up: there your mother gave birth to you, there your parent gave birth to you."
The lines symbolize conception and birth. The relationship between apple and apple tree is wonderful. The proverb “An apple does not fall far from an apple tree” implicitly contains the meaning that children are not far from their parents.
In Europe, the potato was called the "devil's apple". In Russia, an apple was placed on the grave of the deceased. An apple tree in blossom is a symbol of love. Lone shooter William Tell shoots an apple located on a man's head.
This is where the expression “hit the bullseye” came from, which is undoubtedly a sign of accuracy.


Many love procedures are associated with the manipulation of an apple. For example, if in auspicious time cut the apple in half, and put a note with the name of your beloved in the middle of it and tie the halves, put in the sun - then when the apple starts to dry, the object of love will feel more and more inclination towards you.

Did you know the Honey Crisp variety
the most persistent and strong of all the others?
Regina

Apple

Greek Melon and Latin - Malum mean not only an apple, but also any large fruit, for the exact designation and definition of which you need to add your own name.

If you cut it into two equal halves, you will see seed pods folded in the form of pentagrams (five-pointed star), which in turn is a sign of knowledge and initiation.

Apple (due to its spherical appearance, in antiquity) - Eternity without beginning and without end;
In the Christian tradition, it has a dual meaning. On the one hand, it means evil (in Latin malum) and is the fruit of the seduction of Adam and Eve. On the other hand, depicted with Christ or the Virgin Mary, it points to the new Adam and salvation. A monkey with an apple in its mouth means the fall.

Among the Greeks, the apple was dedicated to Venus as a sign of love and desire; wedding symbol representing a marriage proposal. The branches of the apple tree are in the attributes of Nemesis and Artemis. They are also used in rituals associated with Diana, where they are presented to the grooms as a prize in the midday marriage competitions in the run, (the girls who won the night marriage competitions in the run were awarded an olive branch). The apple of Dionysus was the quince. The apple tree was associated with health and immortality. Dedicated to Apollo.

In the Celtic tradition, the apple was the fruit of magic, it was considered a self-regenerating food for sorcerers, wizards, sorcerers. Among the Gauls, the apple tree was a sacred tree, along with the oak.
Many kings and heroes of the past legend were placed in a certain Land of Apples, where they sleep soundly, or have fun with beautiful women, waiting for the moment when the Fatherland is in danger. Then they will come to the aid of the Motherland. Such is the case with King Arthur sleeping on the Isle of Avalon, which in Celtic means "Isle of Apples".

In Scandinavian mythology, the magic apple of Iduna is the personification of the season between March and September; eating apples by the gods filled them with new strength, gave eternal youth. Medieval legends told that Alexander the Great, who was looking for “living water” in India, once ended up in an apple orchard, and found out that those who eat apples from this orchard acquire longevity and sometimes live up to 400 years...

Symbolizes:

Symbol of love, conception and birth. In Greek mythology, the creator of the apple is Dionysus, who presented it to Aphrodite, which was the reason for the erotic symbolization of the apple. During the wedding of Zeus with the Hero, Gaia gave her an apple, which symbolized fertility. In Athens, newlyweds shared and ate an apple on entering the bridal chamber; handing or throwing apples was considered a sign of love.

A symbol of eternal youth and immortality. Apples in many myths are associated with paradise or the Garden of Eden.

A symbol that defines a person's life. An apple predicts fate, determines the fate of a hero or heroine. In many fairy tales, the apple tree saves from trouble. But an apple tree and apples can also bring trouble: grief, illness, death.

Symbol of discord. The expression “apple of discord” is based on an ancient Greek myth: the goddess of discord Eris, offended by the gods for not being invited to the wedding of the mortal Peleus with the goddess Thetis, stole one of the apples of the Hesperides (giving immortality). And with the inscription "To the most beautiful" I threw it at the wedding feast. A dispute arose between the three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite.

Accuracy symbol. "In the bull's-eye" - one more popular expression, which means amazing hit accuracy. The legendary shooter William Tell, as well as other heroes and robbers, most often chose an apple as a target for archery competitions.

Symbol of worldly power.

An apple is a child, a child, and an apple tree is a family. It means fertility, love, joy, knowledge, wisdom, deification and luxury, but at the same time deceit and death. Eternity without beginning and without end; immortality. eternal youth, or late old age, love and carnal attraction.

Apple tree flowers - spring, the beginning of the year, the beginning of love; flower of a young girl. Apple - autumn, end of the year, end of life. Being round (spherical) in shape, it represents integrity and unity and is opposed to a pomegranate, consisting of many grains.

Heraldry

In ordinary life, an apple, due to its almost perfectly round shape, is perceived as a cosmic symbol, therefore, kings and kings, along with the scepter, hold in their hands the “sovereign apple” (power) representing the whole world. In the ancient world, three circles were depicted on coins, denoting the parts of the earth known to Emperor Augustus - Asia, Africa, Europe, and the "sovereign apple" was crowned with the figure of the goddess of victory (Nike, lat. Victoria). In the Christian era, Nike took the place of the cross, so even the astronomical symbol of the Earth is a circle with a cross erected on it.

It is noteworthy that even the unattractive wild apple tree has found its use in heraldry. “The wild apple, tough and sour, is especially good for preserving wine so that it does not turn sour. Thus, evil is punished with harshness, while virtue is preserved” (Böckler, 1688).

Psychology

Immortality guaranteed.

According to Jung, the apple eaten by Adam and Eve acts as a symbol of life.
According to Dil, an apple is a symbol of earthly desires or indulgence in them. The warning not to eat the forbidden fruit thus came from the lips of a higher being as a warning against the hypertrophy of material desires. Intellect, the thirst for knowledge, Nietzsche believed, is the only intermediate zone between earthly desire and pure spirituality.

In a dream, red or green apple means harmonious organic life.

Apple tree

The apple tree is one of the symbols of the tree of life. The world tree is the axis of the world, the universe. Many nations saw an unusual fruit in an apple - the fruit of the tree of life. Under the world tree, human fates are decided, under it the gods gather for great advice, people come here for advice and knowledge; here seek immortality and health. The moon and the sun hide in the branches of the tree.

Note:
At the young Regina we can see a pendant with the World Tree.
We will analyze this symbol in more detail when we talk about the Coat of Arms of Storybrooke.

Apples are without a doubt the most popular fruit among the inhabitants of temperate latitudes. Everyone without exception knows about the beneficial properties of these wonderful fruits. Without apples it is difficult to imagine the cuisine of the Slavic and European peoples. And not only gastronomy owes this fruit variety and usefulness. The apple theme is closely woven into the cultural traditions, folklore and art of many peoples of the world.

Apple is a universal symbol

Such a simple and familiar, at first glance, apple is a rather controversial symbol in the history of culture.

On the one hand, the fruit represents the fullness of life, the joy of love and spring rebirth.

At the same time, it is the apple that is called the forbidden fruit and a symbol of discord.

The duality of the nature of love between a man and a woman is also contained in apple symbolism. The gentle, romantic "apple tree in bloom" is contrasted apple, as a symbol of the goddess Ceres, exposing people to the frenzy of passion. The fruit in folklore is also a symbol of hope for a successful marriage for future spouses, and also personifies family ties.

An apple is the fruit of a lost paradise, a symbol of lost unearthly bliss. At the same time, earthly lords lean right hand on a state in the form apples Therefore, the fruit is a symbol of worldly power.

A lot of stable "apple expressions" associated with symbolic meanings, entered the fund of the Russian language.

The apple is the forbidden fruit

The forbidden fruit, as you know, is always sweet, which cannot be said about all varieties of apples. Nevertheless, the first translators of the Bible blamed the fall of the first man on the apple, although the Book of Books itself does not contain a specific name for the fruit with which Eve seduced Adam. Why did the apple become a symbol of original sin? Probably the reason was the incredible popularity of this tasty and healthy fruit.

At the same time, the apple represents heavenly bliss before the fall. It is no coincidence that the name of the mythical city of Avalon comes from the Welsh name for the fruit.

Apple of discord

If in China the fruit of an apple tree is a symbol of peacefulness, then in Ancient Hellas the fruit became an attribute of dispute and competition. At the famous trial of the handsome mortal Paris over the three goddesses - Hero, Athena and Aphrodite - the prize was Golden Apple with the inscription "Most Beautiful". Paris rejected power and military prowess, preferring the love that Aphrodite promised him. Because of the abduction of the Beautiful Helen, the Trojan War broke out. Hence, another popular expression - "the apple of discord."

rejuvenating apple

Myths and fairy tales of the peoples of the world contain a large number of references to the power of the fruits of the apple tree to give eternal youth and prolong life.

Hero Hercules kidnapped golden apples of the Hesperides that promised the owner eternal youth.

Stole rejuvenating apples and the Scandinavian god Loki.

Numerous Russian fairy tales tell about the ability of apples to return and protect youth.

"An apple from an apple tree ..." in Slavic culture

In addition to a positive symbol of health, fertility, prosperity, marital love and healthy offspring, spring rebirth, apples among the ancient Slavs were the personification of the mystery of life and death. According to Russian tradition, an apple was an obligatory offering to the grave of ancestors. It was believed that the fruit will help to keep in the memory of the living the image of the already departed. It also symbolized the infinity of the cycle of life. "The apple never falls far from the tree", - says a Russian proverb about the connection of generations.

The fruits of the apple tree played a big role in wedding ceremonies and in the rituals associated with the birth of children. To accept an apple as a gift meant for the girl consent to marriage. The festive wedding table was decorated with apple tree branches. The apple is a symbol of the bride's chastity. The bride and groom ate one half of it before the first wedding night.

During the wedding, the bride had to throw an apple over the altar in order to have many children. A pregnant woman had to hold on to an apple tree branch so that the child would be born beautiful and healthy. Traditionally, apples bestowed on women in childbirth. With them they came to the christening, they caroled with them and invited to the wedding.

With the help of apples, the peasants called for abundance in the economy.

One of the most beloved holidays in Rus' -.

The apple is a symbol of precision

"On the bull's-eye" is another catchphrase, meaning amazing hit accuracy. The legendary shooter William Tell, as well as other heroes and robbers, most often chose an apple as a target for archery competitions.

You can talk about the symbolism of the apple endlessly. Few fruits can boast of so many references in world literature and myth-making. Let's not forget about useful properties this true gift of nature. Its healing power always hits "exactly" protecting us from many ailments, giving us health and active longevity.

Isabella Likhareva

APPLE TREE (lat. Malum). There is no unambiguous interpretation of its name. Some researchers believe that in Latin "Malum" means both an apple and evil, trouble. Others believe that it comes from the ancient Greek "malon" and could equally mean both an apple and a sheep.

The Russian word "apple tree" comes from the Old Slavonic "ablon", and it comes from the Indo-European "albho", which means "white". Indeed, in the context of apple pulp is usually white. Popular names: sour, sour, wild, leshovka. Leshovka was called a wild apple tree, it was believed that to eat it sour apple only a goblin could.

The symbolism of the apple is also ambiguous. In almost all nations, it is a symbol of fertility, health, love, beauty. And at the same time, according to Greek mythology - a symbol of discord, and in the Christian tradition - a symbol of temptation, original sin, forbidden fruit. In a Ukrainian legend, a fallen angel seduces Adam and Eve with an apple, saying that by eating it they will become gods.

The round shape of an apple was interpreted by the ancients as eternity without beginning or end, integrity and unity of the world. An apple tree is a family, and an apple is a child, a child. Apple tree flowers - spring, the beginning of the year, the beginning of love. Its fruit is autumn, the end of the year, the end of life. Apple blossoms also symbolized maternal devotion. In Ukraine, a wreath of seven flowers was woven for a seven-year-old girl, and for the first time apple flowers were woven into it. The father touched the tree with a wreath, said: “Mother-apple tree, our nurse ...” and asked her for health and happiness for the child.

And also in mythological representations of our ancestors, the apple was endowed with the ability to predict fate, save from trouble, be an elixir of youth. According to legend, rejuvenating apples had great power. They grew up in a distant country far away, in a kingdom far away, and were guarded by evil giants and dragons. It was worth fighting for these apples, because they could not only give health and eternal youth, but even restore life to the dead and gain power over the universe.

To regain youth, the old man had to eat such an apple and drink living water. Well, if it is not possible to get a rejuvenating apple, then according to belief, the most ordinary, plucked in your garden, can turn into it, if certain conditions are met. On the growing moon for 12 days, an hour before bedtime, you need to eat a spoken apple. Be sure to slander three times: “Either in the rain, or in the sun, only in the heat, only in the cold, it was simple, it became rejuvenating. Let it be so! Let it be so! Let it be so"

Many customs and traditions are associated with an apple tree, an apple, most of which relate to wedding rituals, marriage, and family. Among the Slavs, the apple acted as a love sign. They believed that in order to see the betrothed in a dream and experience love languor, a shy girl needs to lie down under an apple tree in the summer. Offering an apple was a declaration of love. And accepted by the girl during the matchmaking, it meant her consent to marriage. An apple tree branch decorated the bride's wreath, was used in the manufacture of a wedding tree, in decoration holiday table. In the old days, Ukrainians stuck an apple tree branch into a loaf (palyanitsa), and Russians into a wedding chicken.

In some places, the newlyweds ate a ruddy apple broken in half immediately after the wedding. According to legend, this ensured their fertility and the beauty of future children. According to other beliefs, for the future health and beauty of children, a pregnant woman had to hold on to an apple tree and look at its branches in winter, or at apples in summer. It was believed that an apple that grew first on a young apple tree, or originated after a secondary flowering, and also hung on a tree for a long time, helps with infertility. But if you see in a dream the fall of two apples, then according to Ukrainian beliefs, twins will be born.

Children have always been perceived as a continuation of life, a continuation of the family. It was accepted on New Year, which was understood as the beginning of a new life, when the fate of a person is laid, to give them apples to accumulate vitality.

In the popular mind, the apple tree and its fruits were endowed with magical powers. In order to achieve high growth of rye, in some regions of Russia it was customary before sowing, after picking an apple, toss it higher up. And in order for the scythe to grow well, on Maundy Thursday and at the Apple Spas early in the morning, the girls went under the apple trees to comb their hair with a comb made from an apple tree. They believed that in order to ensure health, it was necessary to wash oneself at Christmas and New Year with water in which an apple lay, that an apple tree planted next to a house would attract well-being to it.

According to popular beliefs, apples have a special power of fulfilling desires on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, celebrated on August 19, among the people it is called the Apple Savior. It was on this day in Rus' that it was customary to pick and consecrate apples and other fruits of the new harvest. Why not earlier? The answer is given by the ancient legends about the birds of paradise Sirin and Alkonost, in which paganism and Christianity are bizarrely mixed.

These mythical birds woman's face and with a crown on their heads they fly from the Garden of Eden to the earth precisely to the apple tree and bring healing herbs in their sharp claws. The face of the Sirin bird is impenetrable, stern, and on the face of the Alkonost bird there is a smile. One reminds us that earthly life is fleeting, that wealth and power are worth nothing in it. The other is a bird that brings happiness, bestows love and faith. (Sirin and Alkonost. V. Vasnetsov).

The Sirin bird flies to the apple tree long before the Apple Savior and brushes dead dew from its wings. Therefore, according to popular belief, one who picks an apple ahead of time can pick exactly the one that this dew fell on. And then for his impatience, greed, a person is punished by death. The Alkonost bird flies exactly to Spas and brushes live dew from its wings. From this day on, all the fruits on apple trees become healing, amazing power appears in them.

The ban on eating apples before the Savior was especially strictly applied to parents whose children died this year, or in general to those who lost their children. This prohibition was observed and is still observed in many places. According to popular beliefs, if it is violated, God will not give the apple of paradise “in the next world” to dead children, and it will be hard for them.

People believed that apples become magical on Spas, that if you make a wish and then eat a consecrated apple, then the wish will come true. On this day, it was customary to give generously to the poor - it was believed that the more generous a person was, the kinder God would treat his deceased relatives, that whoever on the Savior would treat the poor with a harvest, next year will spend in abundance.

Apples were part of the ritual dishes in the form of "vzvara", "uzvara" (Ukrainian) - dried fruit compote. They were always served on the table during the wedding, and on Christmas Eve, and at the memorial meal. Among the Slavs, the apple is associated with the world of the dead and plays a significant role in funeral and memorial rituals. It was used both as food for the dead and as a means to commemorate the dead.

An apple was placed in a coffin or grave, since, according to legend, the deceased eats apples and gingerbread “in the next world”. Deceased on the apple tree Spas the child at Eastern Slavs, as a rule, girdled. This custom is associated with the naive idea that God will give apples to children on the Savior, and it is necessary that the child be able to put an apple in his bosom. Among many Slavic peoples, the custom of leaving apples on the grave on the days of commemoration, along with bread, eggs, and money, was widespread and still preserved. Apples were exchanged memorial days in the cemetery - for the repose of the soul of the deceased.

Such a familiar apple, it turns out, played a very important role in the worldview of our ancestors. And in conclusion - about one more wonderful, modern apple tree.

There is an amazing tree in Ukraine in the city of Krolevets (Sumy region), certainly the only one in the world. This is a 220 year old apple bush that is a colony of 15 related related trees. It covers an area of ​​more than a thousand square meters. Once this colony was one tree, but then the apple tree began to grow “incorrectly”: with age, the tree bent so much that its branches rested on the ground and began to take root. Thus, the apple tree, as it were, prolongs its life - one of the trunks dies, a new one is formed. The mother trunk is long gone, but the apple tree continues to live. A miracle tree blooms every year, but the fruits, sweet and tart in taste, are only on one half of the apple tree, while the other half of it is resting.

Of course, the miracle tree is surrounded by legends. According to one of them, the apple tree is cursed, according to the other, bending its branches to the ground, it yearns for the deceased Prince Meshchersky, who once planted it himself (the apple tree-colony grows on the territory of the former Meshchersky estate). According to the third, the prince planted an apple tree on the grave of his early deceased, dearly beloved wife, and his longing for her was transferred to the tree. There is no scientific explanation for the phenomenon of the apple-colony yet.

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Oddly enough, such a simple fruit - an apple - has a lot of meanings and culture. different countries. For some nations, it means spring rebirth and joyful love, while for others it means discord and forbidden fruit. The dual nature of love between and a man is also symbolized by this stone fruit.

An example is the apple of the ancient Roman goddess Ceres, which plunges people into a passionate frenzy. He is opposed by another symbol - a romantic and tender "apple tree".

In folklore, an apple means hope for a very successful marriage and strong family ties. Many winged "apple" expressions have entered the cultural fund of the Russian language.

The apple is the forbidden fruit

An apple is the cherished, favorite image of I. Mandelstam. It first appeared in the poem "The Eucharist" in 1915. “The whole world is taken in hand, like a simple apple” - here the fruit symbolizes the peace and salvation that the church brings. An apple is a divine gift, joy, it is in this context that this image is read in poetry and Mandelstam: “Journey to Armenia”, “Goethe's Youth”, “Word and Culture”.

In the story “The Silent Wind” by O. Henry, apples are a detail of the hero’s image, and in Agatha Christie, apples are a means of inspiration. Her heroine, the writer Mrs. Oliver, consumed apples in large quantities.

The popularity of this fruit in the literature is not accidental, the apple is an affordable, favorite fruit that has many healing properties.

The image of an apple in painting

Painters also did not disregard this topic. The famous painting "Spring" by Sandro Biticelli depicts the main character emerging from a beautiful apple orchard. The German artist Lukas Kranas in the painting "The Golden Age" also used the image of an apple tree, around it, strewn with ripe fruits, young men are circling in a cheerful round dance. Here the apple tree is a symbol of youth and health and the tree of peace.

D. Zhilinsky's painting "Under the old apple tree" is symbolic. Figures representing three ages are depicted under a tree strewn with fruits. human life: a bent old woman, a young woman and a boy.

The image of an apple can be seen on the canvases of great painters: V. Titian, P. Rubens, Raphael, M.M. de Caravaggio. Each artist in the paintings reflected his vision of this image.

On the plot of the famous myth of the Judgment of Paris, composer Antonio Chesti created the largest opera in the history of music - The Golden Apple. Also, the image of an apple is found in movies, in animation.

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