For the Mediterranean culture and for Greece in particular, the olive tree is not merely a symbol of geography, of peace or of prosperity. Rather, it is an integral part of Greek culture. More than a mere natural feature of the landscape, the olive tree frequently becomes the landscape itself, defining its austere geography. Apart from being a recognizable feature of the Mediterranean art, it is a means of expression that unites different places, epochs and styles in a common symbolism, thus constituting a visual alphabet of the Greek land and history.
The reproductive power of the olive, its extraordinary longevity, its importance to the diet of mankind and its ability to preserve organic matter bring the olive tree close to the essence of the goddess Earth, the inexhaustible source of life and nourishment. The olive symbolizes the tireless fertilizing powers of the earth, which, continuously renewed and ageless, is associated with immortality and with almost all the female divinities of vegetation and fertility.

The Greek Presidency

The exhibition ‘In Praise of the Olive’ was presented at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, from September 1 until October 20, 2006. The official opening on September 19 coincided with the second term of the Greece’s presidency of the Security Council. The Greek minister for foreign affairs, Ms Dora Bakoyannis, the Greek minister for culture, Mr Giorgos Voulgarakis, and the secretary-general of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, inaugurated the exhibition.  

The exhibition has been created by the Research Center of Hellenic Folklore of the Academy of Athens, with the support of the General Secretariat for the Olympic Utilization. It was presented for the first time on the occasion of the 2004 Olympic Games at the Academy of Athens. It includes thematic units from the mythology and the history of the olive tree in the Mediterranean area and its relation with the Greeks, its importance for the economy, diet, health, worship and art, and its gradual development into a symbol. More specifically, the exhibition’s thematic units are the following: ‘Legends and Archaeology of the Olive,’ ‘The Olive and Athletics,’ ‘Olive Oil in Health and Diet’ and the ‘The Image of the Olive Today.’

Mrs Aikaterini Polymerou-Kamilaki, director of the Hellenic Folklore Research Center, is in charge of the scientific and organizational aspects of the exhibition. Mrs Louisa Karapidaki, an archaeologist and permanent associate of the Folklore Center, is in charge of the exhibition, which is supported by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Greek Ministry of Culture, the General Secretariat for the Olympic Utilization and the Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations.

Aspects of the symbol

The exhibition presents all cultural and practical aspects of the olive-tree cult ― myths, symbolisms, uses, art, language, the pre-Christian tradition, religious customs and the olive’s relation with Christianity, as well as today’s diet, health and cosmetics. It covers a long period and presents quite extensive material, from the mythical appearance of the olive tree in the Mediterranean area and its connection with the Olympic Games to the actual culture of the olive in Greek lands.

The olive tree and its fruit, although closely intertwined with Greece and Greek culture, have ceased to constitute purely Greek symbols. It is not accidental that the emblem of the United Nations comprises two olive branches that surround and protect the globe. From 1945, when it was used for the first time as the emblem of the UN in San Francisco, the olive branches have portrayed the most important mission of the organization: the maintenance of international peace and security.

Even nowadays, when the activities of the organization touch upon the everyday lives of billions of people in every corner of the planet in so many and such diverse ways, we could hardly find a more appropriate symbol than the olive, to project with clarity and directness everything that the mission and the objectives of the United Nations stand for. The olive, the Greek symbol of moderation and fertility, has thus evolved into the international symbol of a common global effort for peace and prosperity for all.

The exhibition

This notable exhibition reveals many things. It throws light on the importance of the olive in shaping the relationship of the Greek people to their land and on the great significance the olive fruit had since prehistoric times for agricultural production and for the economy in general. It highlights the symbolisms that accompany the olive in religious worship, art and culture. The exhibition charts the role of the olive in daily life, in our habits and customs, and in our social relations, social interchanges and economic relations. And, above all, the inspirational contribution of the olive to the arts is clearly presented.

Images are often more powerful than words. Minoan wall paintings, agricultural or mythological scenes from black-figure and red-figure ancient vases, the simple wild olive branch as a priceless symbol of victory, the ever-burning lamp before a holy icon in ordinary households and humble churches, the thick bars of soap and the baptismal cloths with that vague odor of oil ― all speak more eloquently than words or descriptions of the culture of the olive tree, of its all-embracing presence, its importance and its connotations.

The natural landscape is the background against which civilization develops and the landscape of the olive grove carries the memory of generations of laborers ― one of man’s benign interventions in nature. It is a source of balance between the transient and the eternal. The landscape retains traces and features of previous ages, of social structures, technologies, functions and symbolisms.

Art and the olive

The fossilized leaves and the shriveled fruit of the olive from the Minoan palace at Zakros, the strigils of the athletes and the crowns of the victors, the oil lamps and the phials of perfume, the cresset lamps, the sprinklers filled with holy water which was used to bless the tools of the workers before they would go to work in the olive grove, the old lists of herbs for traditional remedies, the soap molds and the old soap packaging, they are all presented alongside book extracts and works of art, older or more recent ― memories and reflections on this timeless and inexhaustible subject.

We recite Homeric verses interspersed with ‘flourishing olive trees,’ we sing of the ‘initiate of the olive tree’ by Odysseas Elytis, we walk through the olive grove by Constantinos Parthenis, or we rest in the shade of the Athenian olive tree by Giannis Moralis. And we return, thanks to the power of art and of the olive tree, to an ageless landscape, marked by the unmistakable signs that have led the olive to become the priceless symbol of the Athens Olympic Games.

On the whole, the exhibition presents the important role the olive has played in forging bonds of friendship between the peoples around the Mediterranean Sea, the age-old importance of the olive tree in agriculture and in the economy in general, as well as the resulting symbolisms in religious worship, art and culture. The exhibition treats the subject of the olive tree at great length, covering its role in daily life, habits, customs, social and economic relations, as well as its contribution as a source of inspiration to various forms of art.

By Simos Ververidis
Simos Ververidis is a teacher.