Olive Oil History
Timeline
As old as human existence, as sacred as the inexplicable mysteries, precious and unique, which could only be described as a gift from the gods to humans, the olive tree emerges from prehistory and finding favorable conditions, rises in the Mediterranean as the permanent and dominant element of its landscape, companion and nurturer of its inhabitants, symbol of its worship.
60000bc
60000bc
Fossilized olive leaves from 60000bc at Aegean islands Paleolithic Period
The olive originated in the countries of south Asia and was carried by birds to the Mediterranean via the Middle East. The most ancient oleaster traces in Greece are fossilized leaves found in the caldera on the island of Santorini dating back some 50,000– 60,000 years.
7000bc
7000bc
First cultivation of olive trees in Eastern Mediterranean Neolithic Period
The olive trees were first cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean area by Neolithic farmers. Starting from the region of the Levant, the knowledge of olive cultivation traveled to Southern Europe through Greece with the spread of agriculture.
3300 - 1200 bc
3300 - 1200 bc
Systematic cultivation of olives and maintenance of trading networks Minoan Period
The farmers of the Neolithic era were the ones who transformed the wild olives into cultivable trees. Thus the first systematic cultivation of wild olives takes place in about 7000 BC. In Minoan Crete (3500 - 1500 BC), oil and olives occupied an important place in the economy, daily life and religious ceremonies. Olive stones were found next to relics, in ancient cemeteries, which accompanied the entombed on their eternal journey. Images of olive trees found in the palace of Knossos show that even then they ate the olives and used the oil for food, but also as fuel for the lamps. It is worth noting that the large clay pots (jars) where the oil was stored have been preserved to this day in ancient Knossos and Phaistos. The best customer of the Cretan aromatic oils was Egypt, which received them from the ships that transported them in specially made pseudo-mouth amphorae.
7th - 3rd Century bc
7th - 3rd Century bc
The social, economic and nutritional value of olive oil Classical Period
During this period olive oil was the subject of research for the ancient Greek philosophers, historians and physicians who studied it, not only for its nutritional but also for its medicinal properties. Aristotle reduced olive growing to science, Solon, the first legislator of Athens, enacted a law to protect the olive tree, while Hippocrates was the first to recognize the beneficial properties of olive oil and recommended it for ulcers, muscle aches and other ailments. Surviving sources of the time refer to the botanical characteristics of olive oil. The symbolic significance of the olive tree - as well as its social role and economic value - was fully integrated with the customs and way of life in ancient Greece.
325ad
325ad
The Eastern Roman Empire became the largest exporter of olive oil Medieval period
Constantine the Great establishes the Eastern Roman Empire aka Byzantine Empire and the religious, culinary and economic importance of olive oil flourishes. The production of olive oil continued during the Medieval period and the empire soon became the largest exporter of olive oil in the world. At the same time, olive trees and olive oil played a very important role in the rituals of the Orthodox Christian Church. The oil is used as a basic ingredient of the diet (the first quality), for the making of soaps (the second quality) and as a lamp for the church candles, the lamps but also the lighting of the houses and the streets. To illuminate Hagia Sophia, the Orthodox Diocese of Constantinople, enormous quantities of olive oil were needed to power the church's oil lamps.
1600ad
1600ad
Spread of olive oil all over the world The Early Modern Period
The development of soap making in Europe in the 15th century, during the Renaissance, created a new demand for oil. Genoese and Venetian merchants find their new suppliers in the Ionian Islands, Crete, the Peloponnese, Mytilene. The culmination of olive growing took place in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, mainly due to the enormous demands of France, and especially Marseille, which became the center of soap production in Europe. The great demand pushes these areas to develop the cultivation of olives as a monoculture, at the expense of other crops but also the self-sufficiency of the areas in the necessary food, of course bringing huge profits to traders, but not to the villagers and land workers - typical the phrase of the era ``mercante d'olio, mercante d'oro``.
Today
Today
Present and Future