Out & About July 2017

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Whether or not you are a gardener,
there is a kind of sensual,
luscious, juicy quality about fruit
that lends itself to the language
of love.
It appears in poetry and prose, in mythology
and folklore; a coy metaphor, a cautionary tale
or a symbol of lust and passion.
In 1675, metaphysical poet Richard Leigh
published a love poem in which a beautiful lady
picks and eats peaches; “Behold, wherever she
does pass,/How all the am’rous Trees contend,/
whose loaded Arms should her embrace,/While
with their fruit tow’rds her they bend,/ As if the
willing Branches meant,/To her, their Bounty to
present”.
But, even 400 years ago, this drew on
thousands of years of fruity imagery.
Apples appear early in Christianity, tempting
Eve into original sin in the Garden of Eden.
In paganism, meanwhile, they are a symbol of
knowledge and abundance, often depicted as a
giving, fruitful tree that evokes fertility.
In Ancient Greece, there were similar
associations with love and abundance.
On the wedding night a bride was given apples
to eat, which were supposed to awaken sexual
desire and stimulate fertility, ensuring many
children.
And while it is no longer customary to pelt
girls with fruit, at one time a gentleman could
confess his love to a lady by tossing an
apple at her. If she caught it, the affection was
reciprocated.
Goddesses and symbolic apples go hand
in hand, but the Greek goddess of love,
Aphrodite, did not arrive by hers smoothly.
The story goes that Eris, Goddess of Discord,
angered by not being invited to a wedding,
threw a golden apple inscribed ‘to the fairest
one’ into the wedding party. It was immediately
claimed by three goddesses – Athena, Hera
and Aphrodite.
A celestial cat-fight ensued and they appealed
to Zeus to decide who the apple rightfully
belonged to.
Preferring not to get too involved, he nominated
Paris, handsome, mortal and known for fair
play, to make the decision.
The goddesses did everything in their power
to persuade Paris to decide in their favour,
but Aphrodite won by offering Paris the hand
of the most beautiful woman in the world.
He gave Aphrodite the apple and set out to
claim the gorgeous Helen of Sparta. At the
time, however, she was married to Menelaus
– who took it badly when she was abducted by
Paris on heavenly approval and, setting out to
reclaim her, started the Trojan war (hence hers
was the face that launched a thousand ships).
So apples are clearly powerful and should not
be trifled with. Yet folk magic often uses them
in domestic-level divinations and to create love
philtres (potions).
In Roman times apple pips would be thrown
into the fire to see whether all would be well in
love – if they popped loudly it was a good sign.
In country areas it was common for young girls
to discover the first letter of their true-love’s
name, by removing the skin of an apple in a
single spiral and throwing it over their shoulder,
to form an initial where it landed.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, young women who ate
an apple in front of a mirror while combing their
hair with the other hand, would see the face
of their future husband appearing in the mirror
behind them.
From ancient times to popular culture, the
apple as a symbolic fruit thrives, as love
and temptation go hand in hand; therefore,
perhaps, the perfect gift for a beloved is a
fruit tree.
An Orchard Odyssey by Naomi Slade, £24.99,
published by Green Books. Signed copies are
available from Waterstones, Newbury.
@naomislade
The fruit of love
Naomi Slade dissects the sensuous quality of
the apple, from Greek myths and legends to the
Garden of Eden, poetry and old wives’ tales