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The myth of the Apples of the Hesperides (Twelfth Feat) read:
The most difficult feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was his last, twelfth feat. He had to go to the great titan Atlas, who holds the firmament on his shoulders, and get three golden apples from his gardens, which were watched by the Atlas daughters of the hesperis. These apples grew on a golden tree grown by the goddess of the earth Gaia as a gift to the great Hera on the day of her wedding with Zeus. To accomplish this feat, it was necessary first of all to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides, guarded by a dragon who never closed his eyes in sleep.
No one knew the way to the Hesperides and Atlas. Hercules wandered for a long time in Asia and Europe, he and all the countries that he passed earlier on the way for Geryon's cows; everywhere Hercules asked about the path, but no one knew him. In his search, he went to the extreme north, to the river Eridanu, which always rolls its stormy, boundless waters. On the banks of Eridanus, beautiful nymphs met the great son of Zeus with honor and gave him advice on how to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides. Hercules should have attacked the sea prophetic elder Nereus by surprise when he came ashore from the depths of the sea, and learned from him the way to the Hesperides; except for Nereus, no one knew this path. Hercules searched for Nemea for a long time. Finally, he managed to find Nereus on the seashore. Hercules attacked the sea god. The struggle with the sea god was difficult. To free himself from the iron embrace of Hercules, Nereus took all kinds of forms, but still the hero did not release him. Finally, he tied the weary Nereus, and the sea god had to, in order to gain freedom, reveal to Hercules the secret of the path to the gardens of the Hesperides. Having learned this secret, the son of Zeus released the sea elder and set off on a long journey.
Again he had to go through Libya. Here he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas, and the goddess of the earth Gaia, who gave birth to him, nurtured and raised him. Antaeus forced all the travelers to fight him and all those whom he defeated in the struggle, he mercilessly killed. The giant demanded that Hercules also fight him. No one could defeat Antaeus in single combat, not knowing the secret from where the giant received more and more strength during the struggle. The secret was this: when Antaeus felt that he was beginning to lose strength, he touched the earth, his mother, and his strength was renewed: he drew them from his mother, the great goddess of the earth. But one had only to tear Antaeus off the ground and lift him up into the air, as his strength disappeared. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time. several times he knocked him to the ground, but only the strength of Antaeus increased. Suddenly, during the struggle, the mighty Hercules Antaeus lifted high into the air - the strength of the son of Gaia dried up, and Hercules strangled him.
Then Hercules went and came to Egypt. There, tired of the long journey, he fell asleep in the shade of a small grove on the banks of the Nile. The king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Epaph Lysianassa, Busiris, saw the sleeping Hercules, and ordered to tie the sleeping hero. He wanted to sacrifice Hercules to his father Zeus. There was a nine-year crop failure in Egypt; The soothsayer Thrasius, who came from Cyprus, predicted that the crop failure would end only if Busiris annually sacrificed a foreigner to Zeus. Busiris ordered the seizure of the soothsayer Thrasius and was the first to sacrifice him. Since that time, the cruel king sacrificed to the thunderer all foreigners who came to Egypt. They also brought Hercules to the altar, but the great hero tore the ropes with which he was tied, and killed Busiris himself and his son Amphidamant at the altar. This is how the cruel king of Egypt was punished.
Hercules still had to meet many dangers on his way, until he reached the ends of the earth, where the great titan Atlas stood. The hero looked in amazement at the mighty titan, who held the entire firmament on his broad shoulders.
- Oh, great titan Atlas! - Hercules turned to him, - I am the son of Zeus, Hercules.Eurystheus, king of the gold-rich Mycenae, sent me to you. Eurystheus commanded me to get from you three golden apples from the golden tree in the gardens of the Hesperides.
“I’ll give you three apples, son of Zeus,” Atlas replied, “you, while I go after them, must take my place and hold the firmament on your shoulders.
Hercules agreed. He took the place of Atlas. An incredible weight fell on the shoulders of the son of Zeus. He strained all his strength and held the firmament. The weight terribly pressed on the mighty shoulders of Hercules. He bent under the weight of the sky, his muscles swelled like mountains, sweat covered his entire body from tension, but superhuman forces and the help of the goddess Athena enabled him to hold the firmament until Atlas returned with three golden apples. Returning, Atlas said to the hero:
- Here are three apples, Hercules; if you want, I myself will take them to Mycenae, and you hold the firmament until my return; then I will take your place again.
Hercules understood the cunning of Atlas, he realized that he wanted the titan to completely free himself from his hard work, and used cunning against the cunning.
- Okay, Atlas, I agree! - answered Hercules. - Just let me first make myself a pillow, I will put it on my shoulders so that the firmament does not press them so terribly.
Atlas fell back into place and shouldered the weight of the sky. Hercules raised his bow and quiver with arrows, took his club and golden apples and said:
- Goodbye, Atlas! I held the vault of the sky while you went for the apples of the Hesperides, but I don't want to carry the whole weight of the sky on my shoulders forever.
With these words, Hercules left the titan, and again Atlas had to hold the heavenly vault on his mighty shoulders, as before. Hercules returned to Eurystheus and gave him the golden apples. Eurystheus gave them to Hercules, and he gave apples to his patroness, the great daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. Athena returned the apples to the Hesperides so that they would remain forever in the gardens.
After his twelfth feat, Hercules freed himself from service with Eurystheus. Now he could return to the seven-fold Thebes. But the son of Zeus did not stay there for long. New exploits awaited him. He gave his wife Megara in marriage to his friend Iolaus, and he himself went back to Tiryns.
But not only victories awaited him, Hercules also awaited grave troubles, since the great goddess Hera was still pursuing him.
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Scandinavian myths
Northern mythology represents an independent and richly developed branch of Germanic mythology, which, in its turn, basically goes back to the most ancient Proto-Indo-European history ...
Scandinavian goddesses
Goddess Idunn
Idunn ("renewing"), in Scandinavian mythology, the goddess-keeper of wonderful rejuvenating apples, Her husband was the son of Odin, the god of eloquence of Braga. The magic apple tree was cherished and guarded by three wise norns. Only the goddess of spring Idunn allowed them to harvest the wonderful fruits. From her inexhaustible casket, Idunn handed out golden apples, thanks to which the gods retained eternal youth. These precious gifts were wanted to kidnap the giants, who wanted to deprive the gods of their strength and youth. Once the fire god Loki was captured by the giant Tiazzi, and in exchange for freedom promised to steal golden apples from Idunn. Back in Asgard, Loki told Idunn about apples, supposedly having even more miraculous properties, and found by him nearby; the trusting goddess went with him into the forest, where Tiazzi was waiting for her in the guise of an eagle.
With clawed paws, he grabbed Idunn along with her apples and carried them to Etunheim, the land of giants. The loss of apples immediately made the gods old, their eyes became clouded, their skin became flabby, their minds weakened. The threat of death looms over Asgard.
In the end, Odin gathered the rest of his strength and found Loki. Threatening him with death, he ordered the traitor to immediately return Idunn and the wonderful apples.Loki, turning into a falcon, flew into the domain of Thiazzi, turned Idunn into a nut and returned home with her. The giant in the guise of an eagle set off after them and tried to overtake the fugitives, but, flying over the high walls of Asgard, burned in the flames of bonfires made on the walls and turned into a handful of ash. Loki returned Idunn to her true form, and she distributed apples to the sick gods. Legends about golden apples, a symbol of youth and fertility, are known in Greek mythology (apples of the Hesperides).
Goddess Norna
Norns, in Norse mythology, the goddess of fate. The first burrow was the wise old Urd ("destiny"), reading a scroll of the past. The second was called Verdandi ("becoming"); she symbolized the present. The third, Skuld ("duty"), kept the scroll of the future. The norns lived at the source of Urd at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil, which they sprayed daily with moisture from the source. It was believed that the norns only determined the fate of the gods, giants, dwarfs and people, but could not dispose of it, although, it happened, they portended misfortune. For example, Urd told the supreme god Odin that he was destined to die in the mouth of the terrible wolf Fenrir on the day of the battle of Ragnarok.
There is a clear parallel between the norns, the Greek moirae and the Roman parks. Probably the norn were originally spinners too.
However, if the Greeks and Romans believed that goddesses spin threads of fate of a certain length for every mortal, then in German-Scandinavian mythology, such an idea of fate is absent.
Goddess Run
Ran, in Norse mythology, the storm deity of the sea, sister and wife of Aegir.
Ran wielded a magic net that she threw at sailors to drag them to the bottom. The couple lived in coral halls, illuminated by the glitter of gold. Rai loved gold, which the northern peoples called "sea fire". Wanting to avoid danger and enlist Ran's support, prudent sailors took gold items on sail.
Goddess Siv
Siv (Sif), in Scandinavian mythology, the goddess, wife of Thor. From her first marriage, she had a son, Uu, the god of archers and skiers. Siv was famous for her wonderful golden hair (apparently a symbol of fertility). There is a myth about how Loki cut her hair, and then, at the request of Thor, forced the miniatures to forge a magic wig of golden threads for Siv, which looked wonderful: even the weakest breeze waving thick golden strands, and, in addition, the hair itself grew on the head. ... Deciding to please the gods and leave them in their debt, the dwarfs used the heat remaining in the forge to make the folding ship Skidbladnir for the fertility god Freyr and the magic spear Gungnir for Odin.
Returning from the forge to the abode of the gods Asgard with a wig, a ship and a spear, Loki met the dwarf brothers Brokk and Eitri. They appreciated the craftsmanship with which these wonderful things were made. Loki invited them to forge something better and even bet on his own head that they would not be able to surpass the miniatures. Touched to the quick, the brothers made for Thor the magic hammer Mjöllnir, a storm of giants.
The suffering of the beautiful Siv, who lost her thick hair at the evil whim of Loki, was identified by the Scandinavians with winter, when stubble remains in the fields instead of a golden cornfield.
Goddess Sigunn
Sigunn, Sigun, Sigrun, in Scandinavian mythology, the faithful wife of the fire god Loki and the mother of his sons, Nari and Narvi. When at the feast of the gods at the sea giant Aegir Loki insulted everyone present, they decided to punish him: Loki was imprisoned in a cave and tied with the guts of his own son Nari. Then the giantess Skadi, the wife of Njord, attached a snake over the head of the evil god, exuding a burning poison.
So he had to wait for Ragnarok, the day of the death of the gods. Despite all the atrocities of her husband, Sigunn remained faithful to him and eased his suffering by collecting poison in a bowl. However, when the cup was full and she went away to empty it, poison dripped onto Loki's face, making him shudder.The Vikings saw this as the cause of earthquakes.
Goddess Skadi
Skadi, Skade ("destruction"), in Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of the hunt, skier, wife of the god Njord and daughter of the giant Tiazzi. The gods killed her father, who stole the rejuvenating apples of Idunn, and Skadi, wearing a helmet and chain mail, came to their fortress to avenge him. Refusing gold, she demanded that the gods make her laugh and give her a husband. They agreed that she would choose a spouse by her legs. Mistakenly believing that the most beautiful legs must certainly belong to Odin's son, Balder, Skadi made a choice, but it turned out that these were the legs of Njord, the sea god of the Vanir. Loki laughed at Loki, who tied the goat's beard to his genitals. The young couple soon decided to live separately, since Skadi loved not the sea and swans, but mountains and wolves. Nevertheless, the giantess from time to time visited Nyord, and when the gods finally imprisoned the evil Loki in a cave, it was she who placed a snake over his head, exuding poison.
Goddess Freya
Freya, Freya ("lady"), in Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of fertility, love and beauty, daughter of Njord and sister of Freyr.
Freya's greatest jewel was the Brisingamen necklace, which she bought in four nights of love with the dwarfs who made it. The beauty of the blue-eyed goddess captivated many admirers, including Ottar, a descendant of Sigurd, who she turned into a boar to always keep in Asgard.
Freya is a constant object of desire for the Jotuns of Bryum and Hrungnir, the builders of Asgard. Like all Vans, she knew magic and could even fly.
For example, flying over the earth, the goddess sprayed the morning dew and summer sunlight, spring flowers fell from her golden curls, and tears, falling on the ground or in the sea, turned into amber.
Searching for her missing husband Audra (possibly the hypostasis of Odin), Freya, accompanied by a flock of spirits of love, flew all over the heavens; however, she often moved in a chariot drawn by affectionate cats; so she came to Baldr's funeral. Freya, according to some myths, has two daughters - Hnos ("gem") and Gersimi ("treasure"), and some sources claim that it was she who taught the gods of Asgard to enchant and incantations of the Vanir. At the same time, it was believed that Freyja daily shares the fallen soldiers with Odin, like a Valkyrie, which contradicts her characterization as a goddess from the Vanir and which testifies to Freya's mixing with Frigga.
Goddess Frigga
Frigg, Fria ("beloved"), in German-Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of marriage, love, family hearth, the wife of Odin (Wodan), sitting next to him on the throne of Hlidskjalve, from where the divine spouses could survey all nine worlds. Frigga, "possessing the knowledge of fate, never predicted it."
When Balder, her beloved son, was tormented by disturbing dreams, Frigg took an oath from all things and creatures that they would not harm him. The exception was the mistletoe shoot, which she did not take into account. This turned out to be a mistake, because blind Höd, at the instigation of the fire god Loki, threw a mistletoe rod at Balder and accidentally killed him. Frigga tried to rescue her son from the realm of the dead, but failed, as the evil Loki refused to mourn Balder. A devoted wife and mother, Frigga had much in common with Freya, probably both goddesses descended from the divine mother earth.
Mythology of the Ancient World, -M.: Belfax, 2002
Myths of Ancient Scandinavia, -M.: AST 2001
Added: 14 Jul 2010 23:10:58
The last, twelfth feat of Hercules was to be the abduction of fruits from the golden apple tree, which mother Earth presented as a wedding gift to the wife of Zeus, Hera. Hera planted a tree in her magical garden, which was located on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains. Here the sun god ended his daytime journey Helios, here a thousand sheep and a thousand cows of the great titan grazed Atlantaholding the firmament on his shoulders.Learning that the daughters of Atlanta, Hesperides, to whom she entrusted the tree, are slowly stealing apples, Hera planted a guard under the apple tree - the dragon Ladon, the son of Typhon and Echidnaswho had a hundred heads and a hundred speaking tongues. Atlas ordered to build thick walls around the garden with apple trees.
Not knowing the exact location of the garden of the Hesperides, Hercules went to the Italian river Po, where the prophetic sea god lived Nereus... River nymphs pointed out where Nereus sleeps. Hercules grabbed the gray-haired sea old man and made him tell how to get the golden apples.
Garden of the Hesperides. Artist E. Burne-Jones, c. 1870
Nereus advised Hercules not to pick the apples himself, but to use Atlanta for this, temporarily freeing him from the immense burden of the sky on his shoulders. Having reached the garden of the Hesperides, Hercules did just that: he asked Atlas for a few apples. Atlas was ready to do anything to get a little respite. Hercules killed the dragon Ladon by shooting an arrow over the garden wall. Hercules took the firmament on his shoulders, and Atlas returned after a while with three apples plucked by the Hesperides. Freedom seemed to him fabulously beautiful. “I will deliver these apples myself Eurystheus, - he said to Hercules, - if you agree to hold the sky for several months. The hero pretended to agree, but, warned by Nereus that it was by no means possible to agree, asked Atlant to hold the firmament until he put a pillow under his shoulders. The deceived Atlas put apples on the grass and replaced Hercules under the weight of the firmament. The hero picked up the apples and hurried away, mocking the rustic titan.
Hercules moved back to Mycenae through Libya. The local king Antaeus, the son of Poseidon and mother earth, forced all travelers to fight him until exhaustion, and then killed. Giant-Antey lived in a cave under a high rock, ate lion meat and recovered his strength by touching mother earth. With the skulls of his victims, he decorated the roof of the temple of Poseidon. Mother Earth believed that Antaeus is stronger than even her other terrible offspring - the monsters Typhon, Titius and Briareus.
Twelfth feat of Hercules
During the fight, Hercules was very surprised when, throwing Antaeus to the ground, he saw the opponent's muscles fill up, and the force returned by mother earth flows into his body. Realizing what was the matter, Hercules lifted Antaeus into the air, broke his ribs and held him in a mighty embrace until he expired.
When later the ancient Roman general Sertorius fought in these places, he opened the grave of Antaeus to make sure whether his skeleton is really as big as they say about him. Sertorius actually saw a skeleton sixty cubits long. It is believed, however, that this case had a simple explanation: the locals buried a whale that had washed ashore in the grave, whose mass caused them superstitious horror.
From Libya, Hercules went to Egypt, where he founded the hundred-strong Thebes, naming them after his native Greek city. The king of Egypt was the brother of Anthea Busiris, in whose state drought and famine had lasted for eight or nine years. The soothsayer from Cyprus, Thrasius, announced that hunger would end if one foreigner was sacrificed to Zeus every year. Busiris was the first to sacrifice Thrasius himself, and then doomed various random travelers to this. He wanted to do the same with Hercules. He deliberately allowed the priests to tie him up and bring him to the altar, but when Busiris raised an ax over him, he broke all the fetters and hacked the cruel king, his son Amfidamant and all the priests present.
After leaving Egypt, Hercules reached the Caucasus, where for many years Prometheus had been chained to a rock, whose liver, on the orders of Zeus, was daily tormented by an arriving eagle. Hercules asked to forgive Prometheus, and Zeus fulfilled his request. But since Prometheus was already doomed to eternal torment, Zeus commanded him to always look like a prisoner, to wear a chain ring decorated with a Caucasian stone. This is how the first ring with a stone appeared.According to the spell, the torment of Prometheus was to last until one of the immortals went instead of him voluntarily to Hades... The famous centaur agreed to do it Chiron, who accidentally received a painful, incurable wound from Hercules during his fifth feat. Hercules killed with an arrow an eagle that was tormenting Prometheus, and gave the rebellious titan freedom. Zeus turned this arrow into the constellation of the same name.
Hercules brought the apples of the Hesperides to King Eurystheus, but he did not dare to take them, fearing Hera's wrath. Then the hero gave the fruits to the goddess Athena. She ferried them back to the Atlanta Garden. Mourning the slain dragon Ladon, Hera placed his image in the sky - this is the constellation of the Serpent.
The sequence of the 12 main feats of Hercules differs in different mythological sources. The eleventh and twelfth exploits often change places: a number of ancient authors consider the journey to the garden of the Hesperides to be the penultimate accomplishment of the hero, and the last one is the descent to Hades for Cerberus.
The author of the article
Fruits are found in the myths and legends of most peoples. It is often a symbol of prosperity associated with the gods of fertility, abundance and harvest. Sometimes, however, fruits represent earthly pleasures, gluttony (excessive eating and drinking), and temptation. Specific types of fruits have received their symbolic meanings in myths and legends of different cultures.
Apple
There are many myths and legends associated with the apple.
Apples are endowed with a lot of symbolic meanings and mythical associations. In China, the fruits of apple trees represent the world, and the apple blossom is considered a symbol of female beauty. In the traditions of other peoples, they can mean wisdom, joy, fertility and youth.
Apples play an important role in several Greek myths. Hera, the queen of the gods, owned a magic apple tree, which she received as a wedding gift from Gaia, mother earth. The Hesperides, the daughters of Hesperus, tended the garden in which a wonderful tree grew. It was guarded by a terrible dragon. The garden itself was somewhere far to the west. The fruits on the apple trees were golden, honeyed in taste, and possessed magical powers. They could heal, regenerate themselves if eaten, and when thrown, they always hit the target and then returned to the thrower's hand.
In the eleventh of the 12 labors, Hercules obtained several golden apples. After a long, arduous journey through North Africa, he enlisted the help of Atlas, who entered the garden, strangled the dragon and received the fruit. Hercules took the apples to Greece, but Athena intervened and returned them to the Hesperides.
The golden apple stolen from the garden of Hera was the cause of the Trojan War, one of the key events in Greek mythology. Eris, the goddess of strife, became angry that she was not invited to the wedding feast of the gods. Arriving uninvited, she tossed an apple with the inscription "Most Beautiful" on the festive table. And Athena, and Hera, and Aphrodite were sure that the apple was intended for one of them. They asked Paris, Prince of Troy, to judge and settle the dispute, and he gave the apple to Aphrodite. In retaliation, Hera and Athena supported the Greeks in the war that resulted in the fall of Troy. People still use the phrase "bone of contention" to refer to something that provokes an argument.
In Scandinavian mythology, apples are a symbol of eternal youth. Legend has it that the goddess Idun guarded the magical golden apples, on which the eternal youth of the gods depended. But after the god of cunning and deceit Loki kidnapped Idun along with the fruits, the gods began to age. When Loki brought Idun back, the gods became young again. In Celtic mythology, apples are also referred to as the fruit of the gods and immortality.
Today, the apple is often associated with the temptation episode in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, lived in the Garden of Eden called Eden. God forbade them to eat the fruits of one tree that grew in the garden - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.When they succumbed to temptation and tasted the fruit, God expelled them from the Garden of Eden for breaking his commandment. Many people imagine that this forbidden fruit was an apple, because it was he who was depicted for centuries in their paintings by European artists. However, the apple was unknown in the Middle East at the time the Bible was written. The biblical description of the tree in the Garden of Eden does not indicate which particular fruit was, and in some traditions it is believed that the forbidden fruit was a fig, pear, or pomegranate.
Breadfruit
The breadfruit has round fruits that can be baked and eaten in place of bread. It is an important food item in Polynesia. The myths about the origin of the breadfruit can be found on several islands in this region. In Hawaii, they say it happened during a famine. A man named Ulu, who died of hunger, was buried near the stream. At night, his family heard the rustle of flowers and falling leaves, followed by the distinct sound of falling fruits. In the morning, people found a breadfruit growing next to a stream, and the fruits of this tree saved them from hunger.
Cherry
In ancient China, cherry blossoms were associated with immortality.
Cherries can symbolize fertility, fun and celebration. In Japan, where cherry blossoms are a national symbol, cherries represent beauty, suaveness and modesty. The ancient Chinese believed that she was a symbol of immortality. One Chinese legend tells of the goddess Xi Wang Mu, in whose garden the cherries of immortality ripen once every thousand years. Since it is believed that the cherry tree can ward off evil spirits, the Chinese put cherry branches on the doors on New Year's Eve and put cherry tree carvings in front of their houses.
Coconut
People in tropical regions consume coconut milk and pulp and use coconut oil and shells for a variety of purposes. According to legend in Tahiti, the first coconut tree grew out of the head of an eel named Tuna. When the moon goddess Hina fell in love with an eel, her brother, Maui, killed him and told her to bury her head in the ground. However, Hina left her head near the stream and forgot about it. When she remembered Maui's instructions and returned to find the head, she found that a coconut tree had grown out of it.
Fig
A fig tree native to the Mediterranean appears in the description of the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they made themselves loincloths out of what is believed to be fig leaves. According to Islamic tradition, there were two forbidden trees in Eden - the fig tree and the olive tree. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks and Romans, figs are sometimes associated with Dionysus (Bacchus among the Romans), the god of wine and drunkenness, and with Priapus, symbolizing sexual desire.
The fig tree has a sacred meaning for Buddhists. According to Buddhist legend, the founder of the religion, Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, attained enlightenment one day in 528 BC, sitting under the Bo tree, a kind of fig tree. Bo, or the Bodhi tree, is still considered a symbol of enlightenment to this day.
Pear
In the mythology of the ancient Greeks and Romans, pears were considered sacred and belonged to three goddesses: Hera (Juno among the Romans), Aphrodite (Venus among the Romans) and Pomona - the Italian goddess of gardens and harvests.
The ancient Chinese believed that the pear is a symbol of immortality (pear trees are real long-livers by their lifetime.) In Chinese, the word "li" means both pear and division. Therefore, according to tradition, lovers and friends should not eat the same pear together to avoid separation.
Plum
The flowers of the plum tree in East Asia are endowed with more value than the fruit. Blossoming in early spring even before foliage appears on the trees, the flowers are a symbol of female youth and youth. Sometimes the wedding bed is covered with plum petals. The plum blossom also has other meanings.Its five petals symbolize the five Chinese gods of happiness.
Cornucopia
The cornucopia, often curved with fruits and flowers falling out of it, is a common symbol of the earth's wealth, abundance, and generosity. The symbol originated in Greek mythology. Legend has it that Zeus, the supreme god, was raised by Amalthea's adoptive mother, who was a goat-nymph or goddess who grazed goats. In any case, she was feeding the divine baby with goat's milk. One day one of the goat's horns broke. Amalfea filled the horn with fruits and flowers and gave it to Zeus, who graciously placed it in the sky, where the horn became a constellation.
Garnet
The pomegranate was considered a symbol of fertility.
For thousands of years, the pomegranate - a juicy red fruit with many seeds - has been a source of food and herbal medicines in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean. The abundance of seeds made the pomegranate a symbol of fertility, since many others can grow from one fruit. For the Romans, pomegranate symbolized marriage, and brides adorned themselves with wreaths of pomegranate twigs.
Pomegranate seeds appear in the Greek myth of the goddess Demeter, the patroness of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone. One day Persephone was picking flowers when Hades, the king of the underworld, kidnapped her and took her to the kingdom of darkness to make her his bride. Heartbroken, Demeter became barren and the land stopped producing crops. All of humanity would starve if Zeus had not ordered Hades to release Persephone. Hades let her go, but before that he convinced her to eat some pomegranate seeds. Having once tasted food in the underworld, Persephone could no longer leave this place forever and become free. Therefore, she is forced to live in the underworld for at least a few months a year. At this time, her mother grieves, and the land becomes barren, does not produce food, but when Persephone returns to her mother, flowers begin to grow again, trees bear fruit, and the earth gives a generous harvest.
Strawberry
Strawberries are of particular importance in Seneca County in the northeastern United States. Since this berry is the first ripening fruit in the new year, it is associated with spring and the rebirth of everything. Strawberries are believed to grow on their way to Heaven. In addition, these berries can have a positive effect on health.
So, a lot of attention is paid to fruits in ancient mythology. This once again eloquently testifies to the fact that they play an important role in the life of all mankind.
