Athena’s Gift: The ancient story of liquid gold

"She rubbed him with olive oil and threw about him a beautiful cloak and tunic. And Athena shed beauty upon him, and made him look taller and more muscled, and made his hair tumble down his head like hyacinth flowers.” 

- Homer, The Odyssey, Book 23

Appreciation for, nay, adoration of olive oil is no new phenomenon. Long before social media feeds were filled with glowy influencers taking shots of EVOO each morning, the ancient poets and philosophers were already waxing lyrical on its dietary, aesthetic, and sacred qualities. And even thousands of years before terms like ‘extra virgin’ or ‘cold-pressed’ existed, the Mediterranean was using pure, fresh, and local olive oil in almost every aspect of life and ritual.

Its story begins - as most good stories do - rooted in mythology. It was the Greek goddess, Athena who bestowed the olive tree upon the mortal world. According to ancient legend, she competed with the sea god Poseidon over the patronage of Athens. To win the people’s favour, both divinities offered a gift. Poseidon struck a rock atop the Acropolis with his trident, the force of which produced a saltwater spring to gush forth. Athena instead, elected to plant the earth’s first olive tree on that same hill, where it still stands today. Athena’s gift was judged superior because it was seen as a source of food, light, medicine, and timber…and ever since, the olive tree has been the ultimate Mediterranean symbol of peace and prosperity. 

To further champion what Homer famously coined ‘liquid gold,’ myths and legends routinely included olive oil as a major prop in their stories. The ancient hero Odysseus was anointed and bathed in it, and slept in a  bed that was made from its sturdy branches; Hercules was said to have spread the cultivation of olive trees across southern Europe as he carried out his twelve gruelling labours; and Minerva (the Roman counterpart to Athena) was also the standard-bearer of the tree. 

These myths trickled into the consciousness of the past’s wisest men. In Rome, Pliny the Elder once noted that “except the vine, there is no plant which bears fruit of such importance to man as the olive tree.” Over in Greece, it was from Aristotle’s lengthy research on the cultivation of the plant that strict laws emerged in ancient Athens to protect the groves. Still considered a direct gift from Athena, these laws prohibited anyone from cutting down an olive tree on pain of exile or death.  

What is clear from its varied uses in the distant past, is that the fruit of the olive tree toed a delicate line between the ordinary and the otherworldly. It was used daily in cooking, health and beauty, solidifying its position as an essential product. Hippocrates (the father of medicine, upon whom our modern day doctors swear their oaths) referred to olive oil as “the great healer”. He attributed more than 60 remedial uses for it, including skin conditions, burns, and infections. Yet, it held equal spiritual weight: at the Olympic Games, crown wreaths of olive branches (kotinos) were awarded to the victors as the highest honour and a tribute of divine grace. The olive tree’s immortalisation in the stories, as well as its symbolic power at sacred events and rituals, elevates it to a significance that extends well beyond a mortal’s kitchen pantry or medicine cupboard.

Yet nowhere was olive oil so revered than around the table. This went further than just the preparation of the food. At a convivium - an ancient Roman evening feast - hospitality began at the entrance of the host’s villa where servants would bathe the guests’ feet in water and olive oil scented with cinnamon, rose or myrrh. In practical terms, this would slick away the dirt and dust from the streets outside, but it would also prepare the diners for an evening of indulgence ahead. 

Inside the dining hall, olive oil lamps illuminated the room with flickering light. A high-grade oil was used which burned cleanly and suffused the room with a pleasant aroma. And of course, in the kitchen, it was to cook, preserve, and emulsify, while raw oil was placed on the table for dipping into bread much like we still enjoy today. It was as important to lay the olive oil in front of guests as the wine.

When these ancients would wake up the next day, hungover from their rigorous banqueting, they may have decided to cure the pounding head and nauseous stomach by a visit to the Greek gymnasium or the Roman thermal baths. In the wellness and hygiene arena, they didn’t use soap when they bathed but instead, they would coat their entire bodies in olive oil and use a curved metal tool known as a strigil to scrape it away along with dirt and sweat. Beyond cleaning the skin, it was used as a deep conditioning treatment for the hair and a base for ancient perfumes too.

When we look back at how the ancients revered olive oil, used it to colour their epics, heal their bodies, illuminate their homes, elevate their feasts, and perform in their sacred rituals, we understand that it was never merely an ingredient. Instead it honoured the senses and nourished both body and soul. While we haven’t carried every olive oil-related ritual with us into the 21st century, it is remarkable how 5,000 years have not diminished its importance or appreciation as a luxurious and yet essential element to our modern day.