Ancient pomegranate myths

Pomegranates must be in season somewhere, because they're cheap in New York right now.  And as much as it pains me to say anything positive about a product with the word "wonderful" in its name, I kind of dig these new ads for Pom Wonderful.  They are based on three ancient myths of the pomegranate: a Persian warrior named Isfandiyar, Eve and the Garden of Eden, and Aphrodite.  (The company must have passed on The Rape of Persephone, the cheerful tale of Hades abducting Persephone, taking her to the underworld, and tricking her into eating pomegranate seeds.  She didn't read the fine print, which stipulated for each seed she ate, she would have to spend a month in the underworld each year.  Thus, winter.  Maybe Tim Burton will direct that one.)

Questions I find interesting:

  • Which fruits are the oldest in their current form?  Clearly, apples and oranges are dramatically larger and sweeter than their ancestral varieties.  What about pomegranates?  Which are most ancient, which are most recent?
  • What other ancient myths surround different fruits, or foods?  Which fruits and foods get more myths than others and why?  And does this reflect a collected wisdom that these foods actually are more nutritious than others?

Know any good links, leads, or books?  Share 'em in the comments.

Comments

Wow! Eve went through a lot

Submitted by KC's mom on Thu, 12/08/2011 - 12:21.

Wow! Eve went through a lot of work, before serving up the seeds! Or did she seduce him into gnawing through the rind first? That's true love. The stains of the seeds wouldn't have been a worry, either.

 I'm pretty sure there's an

Submitted by Alex Good on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 16:50.

 I'm pretty sure there's an older version of the Hansel and Grettel tale involving fruit, but I can't remember it.

Pomegranates are mentioned

Submitted by Liz | Eating Well on the Planet Earth on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 20:20.

Pomegranates are mentioned quite a bit in the Old Testament. Here's something interesting.  God gave instructions (very detailed) on the robes that the priests were to wear.  Exodus 28:33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.It sounds like a beautiful design, and God apparently likes pomegranates.  In Song of Solomon the "Beloved" is compared to a pomegranate quite a few times. I am also from New York, struggling through the winter right now.  Pomegranates can help!

Pomegranates are mentioned

Submitted by Liz | Eating Well on the Planet Earth on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 20:17.

Pomegranates are mentioned quite a bit in the Old Testament. Here's something interesting.  God gave instructions (very detailed) on the robes that the priests were to wear.  Exodus 28:33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.It sounds like a beautiful design, and God apparently likes pomegranates.  In Song of Solomon the "Beloved" is compared to a pomegranate quite a few times.  I am also from New York, struggling through the winter right now.  Pomegranates can help!

i am desperately trying to

Submitted by tracey on Thu, 06/30/2011 - 01:56.

i am desperately trying to find out the signif. of the  poms. on the high priests robe. i've heard rumors on the bells, but not the fruit.

I love historical details

Submitted by Liz on Thu, 06/30/2011 - 08:44.

I love historical details like that.  What is the significance of the bells?  There were also pomegranates built into the design of King Solomon's temple.  I believe they were pomegranates made of bronze and lining the tops of the pillars in the temples.  So there is a big presence of pomegranates in the life of the Israelites, in designs that were given to them in detail by God.  Maybe we won't find out the significance until we can speak to God himself about it. 

Pomegranates are in season

Submitted by mar aige on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 12:30.

Pomegranates are in season now in Spain. Wild ones are significantly smaller in size, less juicy, and have bigger seeds. Cultivated varieties are bigger -I always thought it was due to the fact that farmers water the trees. Not sure if they're sweeter though.I have read plenty of Asian tales with peaches or mangos in them - one with a monkey in the garden of immortality, and a Jataka tale in which monkeys love to eat mangoes.

 where are pomegranates cheap

Submitted by Arseny on Tue, 11/16/2010 - 16:13.

 where are pomegranates cheap in NYC right now? would love to buy a case or two

There was a piece on NPR this

Submitted by Victoria on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 11:21.

There was a piece on NPR this morning about cranberries- how the Native Americans and pilgrams both used them for (different) medicinal purposes.

Alton Brown tackled the story

Submitted by Larry on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 04:41.

Alton Brown tackled the story of Persephone here (at about 5:30)...of course, he turned that story into a science-fiction comic book adventure...

Well, all the berries are

Submitted by Robin on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 23:38.

Well, all the berries are still in their ancient form (we have blackberries, marionberries, huckleberries, chokecherries and more growing locally where I live)AFA ancient myths, I think Hercules had to fetch some apples from Hera's garden, guarded by a dragon. And then Hera's apples show up again with Paris, prince of Troy giving the apple labeled "the fairest" to Aphrodite so then Hera and Athena sided with the Greeks in the Trojan war. The phrase "apple of discord" comes from this one I think. Norse mythology also has magic golden apples that bring immortality. Can't remember who guards them.I also think there's a Chinese myth about the cherries of immortality. Immortality is often associated with some fruit or another.There's some myth about the breadfruit in Polynesia. I don't remember what it is, but I remember seeing it in Palaun wood carvings when I was there. Maybe it was the breadfruit of immortality, LOL.

Yes, I associate immortality

Submitted by Chris on Sun, 11/14/2010 - 17:43.

Yes, I associate immortality with Ray Kurzweil. Maybe the wood carvings were telling the story of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Nuts are a common symbol in

Submitted by Binki on Fri, 11/12/2010 - 16:06.

Nuts are a common symbol in myths, the shell as containing a sweetness protected, or as a container for magic. Other fruit in myths are grapes in greek fables, rowanberries in irish and scandinavian lore, and quinces in turkish/persian tales. Hard to say if the speaking animals in the stories should be considered food, of course, but the wise salmon in the celtic tales sounds tasty.  A classic book on this is of course James George Frazer's amazing book "The golden bough" , read for free here if you have the patience for it: http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021515162