soulgifts – Telling Tales

 

Juicy, shiny, red, round deliciousness. But wait – there is SO much more to apples than that crunchy bite.

Apples have been around since the Garden of Eden when Eve gave one to Adam. And look at what happened – The Fall.

OK. That’s one story. In China they represent peace and its blossom is a symbol of  woman’s beauty.

Back in Ancient Greece the Queen of the Gods, Hera, was given some as a wedding gift from Gaia, the Earth Mother.  The magical golden apples that tasted like honey grew in her garden, where the Daughters of Evening guarded them together with some fierce dragons.  They could heal the sick or injured.  They renewed themselves when eaten.  If thrown, they always hit the target and returned to the thrower’s hand like a boomerang.

But alas, so great was their fame that Hercules just had to get some so he could complete the eleventh of his  twelve great labours.  So he asked his pal Atlas to get some for him. Atlas, being a good bro-friend, killed the dragons and stole some golden apples. Hercules took them to Greece, gave them to Athena who promptly returned them.

And wait – there is more to this apple tale. A golden apple stolen from Hera’s garden caused the Trojan War.  Seriously. Eris  got really  angry when she didn’t score an invite to a wedding feast. She gate crashed, grabbed an apple marked ‘for the fairest’ and threw it.  Just so happened Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all thought it was meant for them. To settle the matter they asked Paris, the Prince of Troy to decide. You’d think he would have known better than to choose between them, wouldn’t you. But he didn’t stop to think. Instead he chose Aphrodite. This of course upset the other two. They threw their might with the Greeks who attacked Troy. And we all know what happened there. The Trojan War. And the origin of the saying ‘the apple of discord’.

Norse mythology also boasts of  golden apples that kept the gods young. Until they were stolen and tthe gods grew old and grey.

In Celtic mythology apples are the fruit of the gods and immortality’

Snow White was sent a poison apple by the evil queen.

Teachers are gifted apples by students. I wonder if they ever stop to think what happened to Snow White.

New York, of course, is nicknamed The Big Apple. Why? Some think because it is the the city of opportunity and plenitude.

We all know what happened to Newton. Ever since, many of us have suffered headaches trying to get our heads around what that means.

And of course, Steve Jobs introduced the world to Apple.

So, the next time you sink your teeth into that juicy deliciousness, pause for a moment to ponder….

©  Raili Tanska

Steps for Peace

What is Apple, after all? Apple is about people who think ‘outside the box,’ people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get a job done.

Steve Jobs