Where did the idea come from that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was an apple? Genesis just says “fruit.” Does Jewish tradition have it as an apple, or is it strictly a Christian thing? Come to think of it, the fruit of discord of the Greek goddess Eris was also an apple. Why are apples considered to be the troublemakers of the produce world? –Sluggo, via e-mail
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But it wasn’t always. Early rabbis suggested the fruit was:
athe fig, because the next verse mentions sewing together fig leaves to make loincloths; agrapes, which later cause trouble for Noah, not to mention many other vino lovers;
Genesis doesn’t mention apples, but Proverbs 25:11 says a timely word is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. More significantly, in the Song of Solomon the apple is an erotic symbol indicating sweetness, desire, and the female breast, which gives you an idea of how things are starting to go, metaphorwise.
Ultimately the apple prevailed. In Areopagitica (1644), Milton explicitly described the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil as an apple, and that was pretty much the ball game. Islamic tradition, however, commonly represents the forbidden fruit as the fig or olive.
In any event, the gist is clear:
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
