Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples
Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.
Image: Prislea cel Voinic si merele de aur
The golden apple is an element that appears in various national and ethnic folk legends or fairy tales. Recurring themes depict a hero retrieving the golden apples hidden or stolen by a monstrous antagonist. Gold apples also appear on the Silver Branch of the Otherworld in Irish mythology.
Atalanta and Melanion, Guido Reni, c. 1622–25
El Juicio de Paris by Enrique Simonet, 1904. Paris is holding the golden apple on his right hand while surveying the goddesses in a calculative manner.
Ivan Tsarevich catches the Firebird who tries to steal golden apples in Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf