Origins of the Forbidden Fruit Myth

How did the apple become the dominant symbol of temptation and sin, when it isn’t even mentioned in the Bible story of Adam and Eve? 

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis meets Professor Azzan Yadin-Israel who has pursued this mystery across art and religious history, uncovering where, when, and why the forbidden fruit became an apple. He reveals that Eden’s fruit, once thought to be a fig or a grape, first appears as an apple in 12th-century French art. But why?

Visit Professor Yadin-Israel's website database of the forbidden fruit in Western art:

http://treeofknowledgeart.com/

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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