Author’s Note: This is the third part of a four part entry for “The Problem of Apples”. Part I can be found here. Part II can be found here. In the last entry we discussed the concept of approaching the deity in terms of their functional status within society, as well as detailing some of the pitfalls in a methodology that seeks to look at the religious tradition outside of the social and cultural structure in which it was found.  In this we will endeavor to delve into the background of either deity and discuss how Ēastre and Iðunn compare in deeper terms. Linguistically and etymologically, the words which came to describe both goddesses are unrelated, and do not come from words of similar root…