There are three instances in Greek mythology in which mortals interact with golden apples: Things get decidedly weird, however, when one considers that the Azteca apparently considered gold to be the excrement of the gods, which is literally what is meant by teocuitlatl, their word for gold. Juba of Numidia is said to have claimed that the Libyans called oranges “the Apples of Hesperia,” saying that it was Herakles who brought them into Libya shortly after stealing them from Hera's gardens.Ģ. It seems to me that it is not the apples per se that have to do with immortality but rather the process of acquiring them which results in this eventual condition.ġ. I do think, though, that there is more to this than simply expensive fruit-shaped ingots. If for no other reason, Hera posts guardians over the fruit of her gardens because people have a tendency towards pilfering gold. 2 If this is the case then it would make much sense to conclude that they are a symbol more so than a practical foodstuff, even in the narratives themselves.Īt the very least their function in the stories is that they are valuable on account of being (wholly or partially) composed of a precious substance. Perhaps worth noting is that whenever golden apples occur in Greek mythology-and also, as it happens, in the Norse myth to which you've alluded in which the Jötnar (Giants) steal both the goddess Iðunna and her apples-there is no (explicit) mention of them being eaten nor of anyone attempting to eat them.Īs silly as it might seem at a glance, the most obvious reason for this that I can see is that golden apples are-if understood to be described as solid gold (or anything close to this) rather than merely gold- coloured-are basically chunks of metal, which should be simply inedible, perhaps even to the gods. 1 The impression might be gathered here that this is not their purpose at all. There does not seem to be any ancient text explicitly stating that these apples confer immortality upon anyone, although a case can be made that, thematically, they-as you put it-“at the least are somehow related to immortality.”Ĭontrary, indeed, to what the Wikipedia article that you mention says, neither is there any ancient literary instance of the apples being eaten or consumed in any way. So my question, does anyone know about an ancient source that mentions the apples grant immortality? If not, it seems someone may have mistakenly thought about the Norse apples when he wrote the Wikipedia page. Now I have found zero evidence for a relation between the apples and immortality in ancient sources, and have looked in all the sources that theoi mentions regarding the apples. Some other sites mention they grant immortality, as well, but they too mention no source and seem to copy from Wikipedia. In any case, the problem is that Wikipedia mentions absolutely no source for the relation of the apples to immortality. This is particularly interesting if true because I recall some Norse myth about stealing apples that grant immortality to the gods. That is, the golden apples of the Hesperides grant immortality to the one who eats them, or at the least are somehow related to immortality. The Garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the west, where either a single apple tree or a grove grows, producing golden apples that grant immortality when eaten.

Hesperides apple