Olive farms and olive oil mills for sale in Greece and Italy

Olive oil was already a prized and much sought-after product in the cultural exchanges of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The trade in olive oil that took place between the Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Greeks enabled the ancient populations of the coastal regions that today make up Greece, Tunisia, France, Spain and Italy to learn about and discover olive oil with all its innumerable qualities.

Fossils of wild olive leaves found in Santorini, Greece, estimated to be 60,000 years old, as well as archaeological finds from the Minoan palaces in Crete, suggest that this oil was part of the Cretan diet some 6,500 years ago. A few millennia later, the Minoans may have created the world's first written records and works of art depicting olive trees and olive oil, fundamental to Minoan life around 1700 BC. Olive pits have been found in excavations at the palace of Tirynthos, in the tombs of Mycenae and quotes about this prized fruit tree can be found in the Odyssey, where Odysseus had carved the bridal bed with a huge olive trunk.

According to a well-known ancient myth, the Athenians chose the goddess Athena over Poseidon for the protection of the city, as she offered them an olive tree as a gift, a source of life that would provide them with nourishment. Olive oil has played a central role in Greek cuisine for millennia.

Olive oil became much more than a food: Ancient Olympic athletes anointed their bodies with olive oil and celebrated their triumphs with wreaths of olive leaves on their heads at the ancient Olympic Games. The champions of the Panathenaeans won huge jars of olive oil. Even Plato's olive tree, under which the famous philosopher taught his pupils, 2,400 years ago, or even the healing properties of oil mentioned by Hippocrates, was also a preservative, medicine, lubricant, perfume and an essential element in religious ceremonies (which is maintained in the Greek Orthodox Church to this day). During wartime, messengers requesting a truce carried an olive branch as a symbol of peace. In addition, citizens who had committed serious crimes and sought asylum at the altar of a god also carried a branch.

With the Greek colonisation of the Mediterranean and thanks to the Phoenician ships, which acted as a link for the exchange of goods with other countries, oil also arrived, becoming a cornerstone of the economy, the so-called ‘green gold’.

Rome began to use and produce oil to make perfumed balms, medical ointments, which were capable of healing wounds and relieving itching. Even soldiers smeared themselves with olive oil to protect themselves from the cold. It is said that the Carthaginians won the winter war against the Romans because they had protected themselves with oil. When they found themselves fighting in the icy waters of the river, the Romans' legs froze and they succumbed.

The olive tree was also venerated by the Romans: Roman mythology attributes the introduction of the olive tree from North Africa to Hercules, and it was the goddess Minerva who taught the men the art of cultivating and extracting oil.

It was with the rule of the Roman Empire that olive cultivation developed even further: the plant spread throughout the conquered territories, and tribute was even paid in the form of oil.

Unfortunately, with the fall of the Roman Empire, even the cultivation of olive trees fell out of favour and for hundreds of years harvests declined enormously.

Ancient Roman cuisine preferred oil, especially crude oil, but in the Middle Ages lard and tallow were preferred for seasoning. Oil production in the Middle Ages did not flourish, as the best agricultural land was devoted to growing cereals. Animal fats, which were easier to preserve, were used to season dishes.