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67-400: The economy of Écija is based on agriculture ( olives , cereals and vegetables), cattle (cows and horses) and textile industry. The most distinctive feature of the urban landscape of Écija are the city's Baroque bell towers. Ancient Iberian finds date back to the 8th century BC, and there are several archaeological remains of later Greek and Roman settlements. In Roman times the town

134-507: A city wall, will be long in falling to decay if tied in this manner. Olives were one of the main elements in ancient Israelite cuisine . Olive oil was used for not only food and cooking, but also lighting, sacrificial offerings, ointment , and anointment for priestly or royal office. The olive tree is one of the first plants mentioned in the Hebrew Bible , and one of the most significant. An olive branch (or leaf, depending on translation)

201-478: A few days with lye, to a few months with brine or salt packing. With the exception of California style and salt-cured olives, all methods of curing involve a major fermentation involving bacteria and yeast that is of equal importance to the final table olive product. Traditional cures, using the natural microflora on the fruit to induce fermentation, lead to two important outcomes: the leaching out and breakdown of oleuropein and other unpalatable phenolic compounds, and

268-680: A highly successful commercial venture from the 1860s onward. In Japan, the first successful planting of olive trees happened in 1908 on Shodo Island , which became the cradle of olive cultivation in Japan. In 2016, olive oil production started in India , with olive saplings planted in Rajasthan's Thar Desert . Favoured by climate warming, several small-scale olive production farms have also been established at fairly high latitudes in Europe and North America since

335-558: A piece of the trunk, the root, a twig, or a stake. According to Pliny the Elder a vine, a fig tree and an olive tree grew in the middle of the Roman Forum ; the olive was planted to provide shade. (The garden was recreated in the 20th century). The Roman poet Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives , and smooth mallows provide sustenance." Lord Monboddo comments on

402-444: A rock to hasten the fermentation process. The olives are stored for a period of up to a year in a container with salt water, lemon juice, lemon peels, laurel and olive leaves, and rosemary. Some recipes may contain white vinegar or olive oil. Most commonly applied to green olive preparation, around 60% of all the world's table olives are produced with this method. Olives are soaked in lye (dilute NaOH, 2–4%) for 8–10 hours to hydrolyse

469-499: A single primary cultivar and a secondary cultivar selected for its ability to fertilize the primary one. In recent times, efforts have been directed at producing hybrid cultivars with qualities useful to farmers, such as resistance to disease, quick growth, and larger or more consistent crops. Fossil evidence indicates that the olive tree had its origins 20–40 million years ago in the Oligocene , in what now corresponds to Italy and

536-560: A smaller area than the Roman era Astigi were built by Almohads , tightening the size of the medina . The place was seized by Christians on 3 May 1240. The proximity to the newly born Nasrid Kingdom of Granada turned Écija into a border town for years to come. Écija soon became a realengo , a territory directly dependent on the Crown (of Castile ). Most of the mudéjar population was expelled in 1263. The countryside of Écija greatly suffered from

603-422: A very close succession of ties made of charred olive wood, binding the two faces of the wall together like pins, to give it lasting endurance. For that is a material which neither decay, nor the weather, nor time can harm, but even though buried in the earth or set in the water it keeps sound and useful forever. And so not only city walls but substructures in general and all walls that require a thickness like that of

670-717: Is also the most recommended and best possible oil for the lighting of the Shabbat candles . Due to its importance in the Hebrew Bible, the olive has significant national meaning in modern Israeli culture. Two olive branches appear as part of Israel's emblem and the olive tree is Israel's national tree. [1] Apart from being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament ), olives play an important role in Christianity. The Mount of Olives , east of Jerusalem ,

737-557: Is cultivated in all the countries of the Mediterranean , as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. It is the type species for its genus, Olea . The tree and its fruit give their name to the Oleaceae plant family, which also includes species such as lilac , jasmine , forsythia , and the true ash tree . The olive's fruit, also called an "olive",

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804-516: Is highest in Greece, followed by Italy and Spain. The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, elevation, time of harvest and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids including linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and fruity flavor characteristics. Table olives are classified by

871-771: Is mentioned several times in the New Testament . The Allegory of the Olive Tree in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans refers to the scattering and gathering of Israel. It compares the Israelites to a tame olive tree and the Gentiles to a wild olive branch. The olive tree itself, as well as olive oil and olives, play an important role in the Bible. The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned seven times in

938-412: Is more subdued than other methods. The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds, and a series of progressively stronger concentrations of salt are added until the product is fully stabilized and ready to be eaten. Applied to green, semi-ripe, or ripe olives, these are soaked in water or weak brine and this solution is changed on a daily basis for 10–14 days. The oleuropein

1005-538: Is naturally dissolved and leached into the water and removed during a continual soak-wash cycle. Fermentation takes place during the water treatment stage and involves a mixed yeast/bacteria ecosystem. Sometimes, the olives are lightly cracked with a blunt instrument to trigger fermentation and speed up the fermentation process. Once debittered, the olives are brined to concentrations of 8–12% NaCl and acid corrected and are then ready to eat. Kingdom of Seville The Kingdom of Seville ( Spanish : Reino de Sevilla )

1072-723: Is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil ; it is one of the core ingredients in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines . Thousands of cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives". About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives. The word olive derives from Latin ŏlīva 'olive fruit; olive tree', possibly through Etruscan 𐌀𐌅𐌉𐌄𐌋𐌄 ( eleiva ) from

1139-537: Is produced by the yeast fermentation, lactic, acetic, or citric acid is often added to the fermentation stage to stabilize the process. Applied to green, semi-ripe, or ripe olives, they are soaked in lye typically for longer periods than Spanish style (e.g. 10–72 hours) until the solution has penetrated three-quarters of the way into the fruit. They are then washed and immediately brined and acid corrected with citric acid to achieve microbial stability. Fermentation still occurs carried out by acidogenic yeast and bacteria but

1206-666: Is table olives which can be stored without refrigeration. Fermentations dominated by lactic acid bacteria are, therefore, the most suitable method of curing olives. Yeast-dominated fermentations produce a different suite of metabolites which provide poorer preservation, so they are corrected with an acid such as citric acid in the final processing stage to provide microbial stability. The many types of preparations for table olives depend on local tastes and traditions. The most important commercial examples are listed below. Applied to green, semiripe, or ripe olives. Olives are soaked in salt water for 24–48 hours. Then they are slightly crushed with

1273-435: Is typically gnarled and twisted. The small, white, feathery flowers , with ten-cleft calyx and corolla , two stamens , and bifid stigma , are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm ( 3 ⁄ 8 –1 in) long when ripe, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in

1340-506: The Acropolis ; it was still to be seen there in the second century AD; and when Pausanias was shown it c. 170 AD, he reported "Legend also says that when the Persians fired Athens the olive was burnt down, but on the very day it was burnt it grew again to the height of two cubits ." Indeed, olive suckers sprout readily from the stump, and the great age of some existing olive trees shows that it

1407-678: The International Olive Council (IOC) into three groups according to the degree of ripeness achieved before harvesting: Raw or fresh olives are naturally very bitter; to make them palatable, olives must be cured and fermented , thereby removing oleuropein , a bitter phenolic compound that can reach levels of 14% of dry matter in young olives. In addition to oleuropein, other phenolic compounds render freshly picked olives unpalatable and must also be removed or lowered in quantity through curing and fermentation. Generally speaking, phenolics reach their peak in young fruit and are converted as

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1474-716: The Linear B syllabic script. The olive tree, Olea europaea , is an evergreen tree or shrub native to Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is short and squat and rarely exceeds 8–15 m (25–50 ft) in height. 'Pisciottana', a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy , often exceeds this, with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4–10 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 –4 in) long and 1–3 cm ( 3 ⁄ 8 – 1 + 3 ⁄ 16  in) wide. The trunk

1541-638: The Marinid razzias in the Guadalquivir Valley initiated in 1275. The Jewish population of Écija apparently suffered the antisemitic revolt initiated after the assault on the jewry of Seville in June 1391 , that spread across Andalusia and much of the Iberian Peninsula. Écija consolidated its status as border town during the 14th century. Écija was granted the title of city in 1402. It was not until 1410, with

1608-501: The Quran , and the olive is praised as a precious fruit. Olive tree and olive oil health benefits have been propounded in prophetic medicine. Muhammad is reported to have said: "Take oil of olive and massage with it – it is a blessed tree" ( Sunan al-Darimi , 69:103). Olives are substitutes for dates (if not available) during Ramadan fasting, and olive tree leaves are used as incense in some Muslim Mediterranean countries. In Palestine

1675-457: The vine , but he makes clear (in 1.16.10) that the cultivated olive must be vegetatively propagated; indeed, the pits give rise to thorny, wild-type olives, spread far and wide by birds. Theophrastus reports how the bearing olive can be grafted on the wild olive, for which the Greeks had a separate name, kotinos . In his Enquiry into Plants (2.1.2–4) he states that the olive can be propagated from

1742-516: The Crown of Castile, in the Kingdom of Seville . A significant community of " new christians " of Portuguese origin settled in Écija in the Early Modern period, acquiring a notable influence in the city. Olive oil production grew at the expense of the relative dominance of the traditional cereal crops starting by the 17th century. Strategically located in between Seville and Córdoba, Écija remained one of

1809-524: The Muslim era) preserved its condition as a centre of high agricultural productivity, featuring a cereal-based production ( wheat , barley , sorghum ). Due to its productive agricultural systems able to sustain several harvests a year, Écija served as a food provider for Córdoba and Seville. The city walls were demolished in the early 10th century as punishment for the local support to the rebellion against Umayyad rule led by Umar ibn Hafsun . New walls, enclosing

1876-493: The Spanish type fermentation process, but the lye treatment process is skipped and the olives are placed directly in fermentation vessels full of brine (8–12% NaCl). The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds. As the caustic treatment is avoided, lactic acid bacteria are only present in similar numbers to yeast and appear to be outdone by the abundant yeasts found on untreated olives. As very little acid

1943-461: The United Nations adopted in 1946 is a world map with two olive branches. The olive tree, Olea europaea , has been cultivated for olive oil, fine wood, olive leaf , ornamental reasons, and the olive fruit. About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives. The olive is one of the "trinity" or "triad" of basic ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine ,

2010-463: The administration of justice. It was also from an early date the seat of a diocese. St. Fulgentius (died before 633), was named to the see by his brother Isidore of Seville . With the Reconquista , by which areas that had been held by Muslims were restored to Christian hands, the archdiocese of Seville was recovered, leading to the overshadowing of nearby Astigi, whose territory was joined to that of

2077-545: The archaic Proto-Greek form *ἐλαίϝα (* elaíwa ) ( Classic Greek ἐλαία elaía 'olive fruit; olive tree'. The word oil originally meant 'olive oil', from ŏlĕum , ἔλαιον ( élaion 'olive oil'). The word for 'oil' in multiple other languages also ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit. The oldest attested forms of the Greek words are Mycenaean 𐀁𐀨𐀷 , e-ra-wa , and 𐀁𐀨𐀺 , e-ra-wo or 𐀁𐁉𐀺 , e-rai-wo , written in

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2144-515: The archdiocese in 1144. Astigi thus ceased to be a residential diocese and is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see . After the Romans, it was ruled by successively by Suevs and Visigoths . In 711, Écija was conquered by an Islamic army on its way to Córdoba, meeting strong opposition from the population, who offered a 6-month-long resistance before capitulating. Capital of an extensive Kūra , Écija (known as Istiǧǧa during

2211-461: The community that do not possess land. This is practised through the tradition of leaving fruit on a tree during the harvest so that those who do not have land and are unable to take part in the harvest can still reap the benefits. The Great Seal of the United States first used in 1782 depicts an eagle clutching an olive branch in one of its talons, indicating the power of peace. The Flag of

2278-496: The conquest of Antequera , that Écija stopped being the head of a borderland territory. During the 15th century, Écija was the third most important urban centre of the Kingdom of Seville after Seville and Jerez, progressively evening the distance with the latter. Estimations for the 15th century yield a population of about 18,000. During the transition from the late middle ages to the early modern period, Écija remained integrated, within

2345-560: The early 21st century. There were an estimated 865 million olive trees in the world as of 2005, and the vast majority of these were found in Mediterranean countries, with traditionally marginal areas accounting for no more than 25% of olive-planted area and 10% of oil production. Olives are thought to have been domesticated in the third millennium BC at the latest, at which point they, along with grain and grapes, became part of Colin Renfrew 's Mediterranean triad of staple crops that fueled

2412-640: The eastern Mediterranean Basin. Around 100,000 years ago, olives were used by humans in Africa, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, for fuel and most probably for consumption. Wild olive trees, or oleasters, have been collected in the Eastern Mediterranean since ~19,000 BP. The genome of cultivated olives reflects their origin from oleaster populations in the Eastern Mediterranean. The olive plant

2479-630: The emergence of more complex societies. Olives, and especially (perfumed) olive oil, became a major export product during the Minoan and Mycenaean periods. Dutch archaeologist Jorrit Kelder proposed that the Mycenaeans sent shipments of olive oil, probably alongside live olive branches, to the court of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten as a diplomatic gift. In Egypt, these imported olive branches may have acquired ritual meanings, as they are depicted as offerings on

2546-402: The fruit matures. Once ripening occurs, the levels of phenolics sharply decline through their conversion to other organic products, which render some cultivars edible immediately. One example of an edible olive native to the island of Thasos is the throubes black olive, which becomes edible when allowed to ripen in the sun, shrivel, and fall from the tree. The curing process may take from

2613-424: The generation of favourable metabolites from bacteria and yeast, such as organic acids, probiotics, glycerol, and esters, which affect the sensory properties of the final table olives. Mixed bacterial/yeast olive fermentations may have probiotic qualities. Lactic acid is the most important metabolite, as it lowers the pH, acting as a natural preservative against the growth of unwanted pathogenic species. The result

2680-553: The green to purple stage. O. europaea contains a pyrena commonly referred to in American English as a "pit", and in British English as a "stone". The six natural subspecies of Olea europaea are distributed over a wide range: The subspecies europaea is divided into two varieties , the europaea , which was formerly named Olea sativa , with the seedlings called "olivasters", and silvestris , which corresponds to

2747-744: The leaves. The same insect is commonly found today on olive leaves, showing that the plant-animal co-evolutionary relations have not changed since that time. Other leaves found on the same island are dated back to 60,000 BP, making them the oldest known olives from the Mediterranean. Olives are not native to the Americas . Spanish colonists brought the olive to the New World , where its cultivation prospered in present-day Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The first seedlings from Spain were planted in Lima by Antonio de Rivera in 1560. Olive tree cultivation quickly spread along

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2814-555: The most important Andalusian cities, economically thriving in the 17th and 18th centuries. It also stood out for its wool trade, with the lavaderos in control of Flemish merchants. Écija featured a relatively multicultural society, allowing for Peninsular and European denizens, and even from the Americas, to share a common space of interchange. The effects of the 1755 earthquake forced a deep urban renewal in Écija. The city had an urban population of 29,343 circa 1786–1787. Although Astigi

2881-500: The natural microbiota present on the olives that survive the lye treatment process. Many organisms are involved, usually reflecting the local conditions or terroir of the olives. During a typical fermentation gram-negative enterobacteria flourish in small numbers at first but are rapidly outgrown by lactic acid bacteria species such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides , Lactobacillus plantarum , Lactobacillus brevis and Pediococcus damnosus . These bacteria produce lactic acid to help lower

2948-613: The old wildly growing Mediterranean species O. oleaster , with the seedlings called "oleasters". The sylvestris is characterized by a smaller, shrubby tree that produces smaller fruits and leaves. The subspecies O. e. cerasiformis is tetraploid , and O. e. maroccana is hexaploid . Wild-growing forms of the olive are sometimes treated as the species Olea oleaster , or "oleaster." The trees referred to as " white " and " black " olives in Southeast Asia are not actually olives but species of Canarium . Hundreds of cultivars of

3015-410: The oleuropein. They are usually considered "treated" when the lye has penetrated two-thirds of the way into the fruit. They are then washed once or several times in water to remove the caustic solution and transferred to fermenting vessels full of brine at typical concentrations of 8–12% NaCl. The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds. Fermentation is carried out by

3082-402: The olive in 1779 as one of the foods preferred by the ancients and as one of the most perfect foods. Vitruvius describes of the use of charred olive wood in tying together walls and foundations in his De Architectura : The thickness of the wall should, in my opinion, be such that armed men meeting on top of it may pass one another without interference. In the thickness there should be set

3149-443: The olive rarely thrives at a distance from the sea, which in Greece invariably means up mountain slopes. Greek myth attributed to the primordial culture-hero Aristaeus the understanding of olive husbandry, along with cheese-making and bee-keeping. Olive was one of the woods used to fashion the most primitive Greek cult figures , called xoana , referring to their wooden material; they were reverently preserved for centuries. It

3216-541: The olive tree and plant carry the symbolic connotations of resilience, health, ancestral ties and community. Researchers have found that the olive tree is tied into the Palestinians' Sutra, A’wana and Sumud . The tree is a means of survival and security, represents their bond to their land, community and animals. Olive trees also serve as a symbol of their identities, which include their physical and emotional aspects and their socio-cultural values. Palestinian people view

3283-415: The olive tree are known. An olive's cultivar has a significant impact on its colour, size, shape, and growth characteristics, as well as the qualities of olive oil. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives". Since many olive cultivars are self-sterile or nearly so, they are generally planted in pairs with

3350-437: The olive trees as the first witnesses that Palestine is their homeland. The harvest season is referred to as "Palestine’s wedding" and is considered a national holiday when schools close for two days so that pupils and teachers can join in the harvest. This holiday allows community and family members to gather and serves as a ritual that encompasses their values surrounding family, labour, community and aid for other members of

3417-592: The other two being wheat for bread , pasta , and couscous ; and the grape for wine . Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking, for frying foods or as a salad dressing . It is also used in cosmetics , pharmaceuticals , and soaps , and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps , and has additional uses in some religions. Spain accounts for almost half of global olive oil production; other major producers are Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Greece and Turkey. Per capita consumption

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3484-555: The pH of the brine and therefore stabilize the product against unwanted pathogenic species. A diversity of yeasts then accumulate in sufficient numbers to help complete the fermentation alongside the lactic acid bacteria. Yeasts commonly mentioned include the teleomorphs Pichia anomala , Pichia membranifaciens , Debaryomyces hansenii and Kluyveromyces marxianus . Once fermented, the olives are placed in fresh brine and acid corrected, to be ready for market. Applied to green, semiripe and ripe olives, they are almost identical to

3551-401: The river's fluvial terraces, built in the Roman era on a location apt for the control of the river and its meadows. Écija has a hot summer mediterranean climate , with mild wet winters and very hot, dry summers. Écija is one of the cities considered to be "the frying pan" of Spain, due to its location on the guadalquivir valley . Precipitation is relatively low compared to the other regions on

3618-635: The valley. However, Écija suffered several floods in December 2010. Olive The olive , botanical name Olea europaea , meaning 'European olive', is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae , found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin , with wild subspecies found further afield in Africa and western Asia . When in shrub form, it is known as Olea europaea ' Montra ' , dwarf olive , or little olive . The species

3685-522: The valleys of South America's dry Pacific coast where the climate was similar to the Mediterranean. Spanish missionaries established the tree in the 18th century in California . It was first cultivated at Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769 or later around 1795. Orchards were started at other missions, but in 1838, an inspection found only two olive orchards in California. Cultivation for oil gradually became

3752-447: The wall of the Aten temple and were used in wreaths for the burial of Tutankhamun . It is likely that, as well as being used for culinary purposes, olive oil was also used to various other ends, including as a perfume. The ancient Greeks smeared olive oil on their bodies and hair as a matter of grooming and good health. Olive oil was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It

3819-576: The wealth of the Minoan civilization . The ancestry of the cultivated olive is unknown. Fossil olea pollen has been found in Macedonia and other places around the Mediterranean, indicating that this genus is an original element of the Mediterranean flora. Fossilized leaves of olea were found in the palaeosols of the volcanic Greek island of Santorini and dated to about 37,000 BP . Imprints of larvae of olive whitefly Aleurobus olivinus were found on

3886-686: Was a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile since 1248 until Javier de Burgos ' provincial division of Spain in 1833. This was a "kingdom" ( "reino" ) in the second sense given by the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española : the Crown of Castile consisted of several such kingdoms. Seville was one of the Four Kingdoms of Andalusia . Its extent is detailed in Respuestas Generales del Catastro de Ensenada (1750–54), which

3953-507: Was at first known as Astigi . During the Roman civil war Écija stood "firmly" at the side of Julius Caesar in the Battle of Munda . As a reward Caesar ordered the town's fortification and refounded it as a Julian colony, possibly Colonia Iulia Firma Astigitana . Under the reign of Octavian , the later emperor Augustus, the colony was strengthened according to Caesar's construction plans, and its name

4020-617: Was brought back to Noah by a dove to demonstrate that the flood was over ( Book of Genesis 8:11). The olive is listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as one of the seven species that are noteworthy products of the Land of Israel . According to the Halakha , the Jewish law mandatory for all Jews , the olive is one of the seven species that require the recitation of me'eyn shalosh after they are consumed. Olive oil

4087-445: Was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples and was the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. In Homer's Odyssey , Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock, and in the Iliad , (XVII.53ff) there is a metaphoric description of a lone olive tree in the mountains, by a spring; the Greeks observed that

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4154-471: Was finalised as Colonia Iulia Augusta Firma Astigitana . According to Pliny the Elder and Pomponius Mela , who both wrote in the 1st century AD, it was the rival of Cordova and Seville . Astigi was an important town of Hispania Baetica , as well as the seat of the Astigitanus, one of the four conventi where the chief men met together at fixed times of the year under the eye of the proconsul to oversee

4221-494: Was first cultivated some 7,000 years ago in Mediterranean regions. For thousands of years olives were grown primarily for lamp oil, with little regard for culinary flavor. Its origin can be traced to the Levant based on written tablets, olive pits, and wood fragments found in ancient tombs. As far back as 3000 BC, olives were grown commercially in Crete and may have been the source of

4288-446: Was one of the most complete Roman cities to have been discovered, the city council decided in 1998 to bulldoze Écija's Roman ruins, including "a well-preserved Roman forum, bath house, gymnasium and temple as well as dozens of private homes and hundreds of mosaics and statues" and replace them with a 299-car parking lot . The urban nucleus of Écija lies on the left bank of the Genil , over

4355-477: Was part of the documentation of a census. Falling largely within the present day autonomous community of Andalucia , it included roughly the territory of the present-day provinces of Huelva , Seville , and Cádiz , the Antequera Depression in the present-day province of Málaga , and also some municipalities in the present-day autonomous communities of Extremadura in the province of Badajoz . Like

4422-710: Was possible that the olive tree of the Acropolis dated to the Bronze Age. The olive was sacred to Athena and appeared on the Athenian coinage. According to another myth, Elaea was an accomplished athlete killed by her fellow athletes who had grown envious of her; but Athena and Gaia turned her into an olive tree as reward. Theophrastus, in On the Causes of Plants , does not give as systematic and detailed an account of olive husbandry as he does of

4489-513: Was purely a matter of local pride that the Athenians claimed that the olive grew first in Athens. In an archaic Athenian foundation myth , Athena won the patronage of Attica from Poseidon with the gift of the olive. According to the fourth-century BC father of botany, Theophrastus , olive trees ordinarily attained an age around 200 years, he mentions that the very olive tree of Athena still grew on

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