Leonardo Olive Oil

A MYTHICAL OIL
THE OIL OF THE GODS

The origin of olive oil is aptly the stuff of myth and legend. According to Greek folklore, the oldest of Western mythologies, olive oil dates back to the time when Zeus, the God of Gods, had to decide the inheritance of the Earth between his daughter Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Poseidon, The Lord of the Seas. The two contenders were asked what each would bestow upon humanity as their greatest gift. In answer, Poseidon struck his trident against a rock and seawater poured out. There was an awed silence. Calmly, Athena stepped forward.




Tapping the ground, she called forth a new and miraculous tree—the Olive. The enchanted Assembly of Gods awarded the earth to Athena and for two days there were celebrations during which amphorae of olive oil were distributed among the rejoicing citizens of Mount Olympus.

The Olive tree finds frequent mention in the Bible as well. In the story of Noah's Ark, the dove that flies in to the exhausted Noah with the momentous announcement that the floodwaters are finally receding carries in its beak an olive branch. Today, an olive branch carried by a white dove is the universal symbol of peace.

The Holy Koran too includes the olive as one of its Four Sacred Symbols along with the Fig, Mount Sinai and the Sacred City of Mecca. It refers to the olive as 'Blessed Tree' and of its oil says, 'Olive Oil takes the high place and deserves its sacred associations'.

Historically, formal cultivation of the tree goes back about 6000 years. First cultivated by the inhabitants of what are now Israel and Syria, it spread to Egypt and thence to Greece. The oldest known written records of olive oil have been found on clay tablets from the island of Crete during the reign of King Minos around 2500 B.C. These tablets speak of the economic importance of this oil, which explains the prolific spread of the tree.