Discover Crete : The cultivation of the olive tree

The olive tree, wealth of Crete!

A favourable climate, a favourable land and a prosperous social regime: these are the components of the fertiliser that fertilised the olive tree at the dawn of the Bronze Age when it took root in Crete, long before it spread to the Greek peninsula.

The Mediterranean climate of Crete, with its mild, rainy and humid winters and long, hot and dry summers, vigorously adapts to the requirements of the olive tree cycle: winter rest from November to February, vegetative awakening from the end of March to the end of May and ripening that takes full advantage of the summer heat and drought.
The Cretan soil, with its deep and permeable soil, resistant to variable and sometimes relatively high rainfall, adds to the conditions perfectly suited to the proliferation of the olive tree in Crete.
The social regime of the Minoan period, with its solid government, gave a decisive boost to olive growing, which conquered the poorest areas of the island. Subsequently, the surplus oil produced was transported in jars and, together with other exported products, it enabled the Cretans to become one of the greatest traders in the Mediterranean.
Going back to the dawn of time, the history of the olive tree is, in fact, intertwined with all the great Mediterranean civilizations. Belonging to the oleaceae family, the olive tree is characterized by its regular hermaphrodite flowers, with fused petals, two stamens and two ovules per lodge. It is a woody plant with opposite leaves and fleshy fruits. Of all the different species that the genus Olea comprises on the five continents, onlyOlea europea L is of interest to us, and more precisely the oleaster series: the wild olive tree and sativa: the cultivated olive tree. They can be found all around the Mediterranean basin and within the climatic borders close to Crete and Greece. The presence of theOlea europea L

is attested in the country by fossil footprints of leaves found in Santorini and dating back to 37,000 years BC. According to Homeric texts and Linear B tablets, the antiquity of both species is confirmed by the presence of two sacred and legendary olive trees: the Athena olive tree, the undisputed symbol of the cultivated olive tree, and the Olympus olive tree, the very symbol of the wild olive tree. Its branches made up the crown, the supreme consecration of the winners of the Olympic Games. In Crete, the olive tree remained important until the beginning of the Mycenaean period, but it was not until around 3000 BC that the cultivated olive tree reached the island: it was then that this tree became the most important pillar of Cretan agriculture.

The olive tree, a generous tree

Three techniques, still practised today, existed for the olive harvest: picking the fruit that fell to the ground, picking it from the tree by hand and, lastly, beating the tree, which required immediate picking and winnowing. According to the sources, in the beginning the oil was extracted using a stone pestle with which the olives were crushed and hot water was used to facilitate decanting. Later, this crude press was replaced by the "blood millstones". These are stone rollers handled either by hand or with wooden frames, operated by animals or by men who, in some cases, were slaves.
In

spite of the important role of the olive tree, mythological sources remain rather modest about Aristaeus, the inventor of the oil mill, to whom Dionysus, the undisputed master of the wine press, casts a great deal of shadow. Athena may be the goddess of the olive tree, but she never supervised the making of oil.
Throughout antiquity, olives accompanied the meals of more or less wealthy households as a condiment. Of great nutritional value, they were above all an essential part of the peasant diet because they were easy to transport. This is also the reason why they were part of the essential provisions for the soldiers.
The quality of the oil was, as nowadays, divided into three categories: first quality oil, from the first press without mixing; oil of inferior quality due to a lower quality of the fruit or the pressing; and recovered oil that was not edible

The uses of olive oil

Most of the inedible oil was used for lighting, mainly for home and mine lighting. Once filled, the usual oil lamp had a lighting capacity of two and a half hours. From archaic times and as a lubricant, oil was used for greasing, for the maintenance of leather and metals, and for sealing the inside of jars and amphoras.

The oil was also used for the basic care of the body. After bathing, the oil anointings, sometimes warmed, softened and relaxed the skin and muscles. Greek athletes and young people exercising in gyms and outdoors used it to prevent muscular accidents and at the same time protect their skin from temperature differences and sunlight. As a high-quality ointment, the oil was the basis of perfumes, while its healing properties have given it an important place in medicine. Having conquered the Cretan land, the olive tree reached the Greek peninsula during Antiquity, passing through Pylos, then Mycenae and finally Athens.

Over time, Greece became a country known for the quality of its oil. Today, it is the third largest producer of oil in terms of quantity produced. One third of production takes place in Crete, where three varieties of olives are grown: Koroneiki, the most widely grown, Mastoidis-Tsounati and Hondroelia, which is rarely grown at present because of climate change and despite the high quality of oil it can produce.

Crete is a region privileged by its climate, history, culture and physical beauties, and is a place that one never stops discovering. A large part of this discovery is through its flavors, highly seasoned with oil.