Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) October 01, 2013
The European Union funded campaign Flavor Your Life, which is dedicated to sharing the latest olive oil industry news, discusses how olive oil has influenced Greece over thousands of years from an agricultural and a mythological perspective.
The region where the olive tree was first cultivated is a mystery, but from the sixth century B.C. onwards they could be seen around the Mediterranean. When the rise of large empires like the Roman Empire occurred, the cultivation of this tree expanded to almost all of the Mediterranean countries, including Greece.
The olive tree has symbolic meaning in reference to the foundation of the Greek city Athens. There was a competition held between the gods as to who would be protector of the city. The competition was between the god of the sea, Poseidon, and the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident. Athena created an olive tree to provide mankind with a healthy juice that could be used in all facets of life, like skin care and cooking. Athena won and the city was named after her.
When the Parthenon was built to honor Athena, there were festivals held, in which the winner would receive gold medals and olive oil from sacred olive trees. At the games held for Zeus, winners were crowned with olive branches and athletes massaged with olive oil. Athenians also used olive oil to anoint their bodies and as a perfume.
The cultivation of olive trees grew greatly due to the Greeks. Even now, it is a staple in one of the most popular diets in the world, the olive oil rich Mediterranean diet.
Flavor Your Life, a campaign supported by the European Union, Unaprol and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, is dedicated to providing the latest in industry news and health information about European extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil enhances the flavors of your recipes while providing health benefits. Flavor Your Life campaign, the voice of olive oil production quality control, aims to educate consumers so they can make informed decisions when purchasing olive oil.