The History of the Olive: From Wild Fruit to Liquid Gold

The history of the olive is the history of the Mediterranean itself. Long before it was a staple in modern kitchens, the olive was a sacred symbol of peace, a source of light for ancient lamps, and a form of liquid gold that fueled the economies of the greatest empires in human history.

At EXAU, we farm trees in Calabria that have been in Giuseppe's family since 1927 — but the story of those trees began over 6,000 years ago. Understanding where the olive comes from changes how you think about the oil in your kitchen. For a broader look at how that history connects to Italian production today, see our complete guide to Italian extra virgin olive oil.

The Origins: From Wild Shrubs to Cultivated Trees

The wild olive tree (Olea europaea sylvestris) originated in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Research published in New Phytologist — drawing on radiocarbon chronology, palaeobotany, and genetics — places the earliest systematic cultivation of the olive in the northern Levant, in the area stretching across modern-day Syria and Turkey, beginning around 4000–3500 BC. From there, cultivated varieties spread west across the Mediterranean in parallel with the rise of early urban civilizations.

The olive was among the oldest fruit trees domesticated by humans — cultivated before written language existed. Archaeologists have found olive pits, pressing equipment, and ancient oil storage vessels at sites throughout the eastern Mediterranean dating back millennia. Clay tablets discovered near Aleppo, Syria, dated to around 2400 BC, describe large-scale olive oil production belonging to the ancient city-state of Ebla.

The Immortality of the Tree

The olive tree is famously resilient. Many ancient cultivars still harvested in Calabria today — including our own Carolea — are descendants of trees planted centuries ago. Because the olive can regenerate from its own root system even after fire or drought, it became a symbol of immortality and endurance across the ancient world. The oldest known producing olive tree, in Vouves, Crete, is estimated to be over 4,000 years old and still bears fruit.

The Phoenicians: Spreading the "Liquid Gold"

If the eastern Mediterranean was the birthplace, the Phoenicians were the messengers. Known as the great maritime traders of the ancient world, the Phoenicians spread olive cultivation to North Africa, Spain, and the islands of the Mediterranean around 1000 BC. They recognized that olive oil was a uniquely valuable commodity — portable, shelf-stable, and in high demand for cooking, medicine, lamp fuel, and trade.

By this period, olive oil had already become so central to Mediterranean economies that it was being stored and transported in large ceramic vessels called amphorae — some of the earliest standardized trade containers in human history. The olive moved with civilization itself.

Ancient Greece: The Sacred Fruit of Athena

In Ancient Greece, the olive moved from commodity to religious icon. According to myth, the goddess Athena created the first olive tree to win a contest against Poseidon for the patronage of Athens — her gift of the tree judged more valuable than his gift of a saltwater spring. The city took her name. Winners of the ancient Olympic Games were not given gold medals; they were crowned with a wreath of olive branches called the kotinos.

Olive oil was also used by Greek athletes to protect their skin during competition. By the Minoan and Mycenaean periods, olives and olive oil had become major export products — a cornerstone of Aegean trade and one of the earliest examples of agricultural commodity economics in European history.

The Roman Empire: Olive Oil at Industrial Scale

The Romans took olive oil production to a scale the ancient world had never seen. They established plantations across their entire territory, built sophisticated pressing and storage infrastructure, and created one of the earliest quality grading systems for oil — categorizing it by harvest timing and sensory quality in ways that closely resemble how we grade extra virgin olive oil today.

Roman expansion into southern Italy — including Calabria and Puglia — laid the foundations for Italy's current position as the world's most biodiverse olive-producing country. The historian Pliny recorded that Italy had achieved "excellent olive oil at reasonable prices" by the first century AD, claiming it was the best in the Mediterranean. The Roman legacy is still visible in the ancient groves of the south, where some trees predate the empire's fall.

The Modern Legacy in Calabria

In southern Italy, we live and farm in a landscape shaped by 6,000 years of olive history. When we harvest our green olives or black olives each fall, we are using methods that have evolved but remain rooted in the same logic that drove those ancient pressing floors — early harvest, fast milling, careful storage. The question of where olive oil comes from is inseparable from this history.

Our family's commitment to single-origin production is our way of honoring that lineage. The oil we produce from the Morisani family groves on the Ionian coast carries the specificity of one place, one family, one harvest — exactly as it has for generations. For the science behind what happens to the olive between tree and bottle, see our guide on olive pollination and inflorescence and how extra virgin olive oil is made.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is the history of the olive tree?

The wild olive has existed in the Mediterranean basin for tens of thousands of years, but systematic cultivation began around 4000–3500 BC in the eastern Mediterranean, in the region spanning modern Syria and Turkey. That makes olive cultivation at least 6,000 years old — predating written language in much of the world.

Where did olive oil originate?

The earliest evidence of olive oil production points to the eastern Mediterranean — the Levant and the Aegean — during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age periods. By 3000 BC, olives were being grown commercially in Crete, and by 1000 BC the Phoenicians had carried cultivation across the entire Mediterranean basin. We cover the full origin story here.

Why is the olive tree a symbol of peace?

The olive branch as a symbol of peace traces back to ancient Greece and Rome, where offering an olive branch signaled a desire to end conflict. The association is also present in the Old Testament, where a dove returns to Noah's Ark carrying an olive branch to signal the end of the flood. Because the olive tree is slow to grow and requires years of peaceful, stable conditions to produce fruit, it became a natural symbol for the kind of enduring calm that makes civilization possible.

How long does an olive tree live?

Olive trees are among the longest-lived cultivated plants on earth. Many trees actively producing fruit today are hundreds of years old. The oldest known producing olive tree, in Vouves, Crete, is estimated to exceed 4,000 years. Because the tree can regenerate from its root system even after catastrophic damage, individual trees can outlast almost anything.

How did olive oil reach Italy?

Greek colonists brought olive cultivation to southern Italy — the region known as Magna Graecia — beginning around the 8th century BC. The Romans then expanded cultivation massively across the Italian peninsula over the following centuries, establishing the diverse regional cultivar heritage that makes Italy the most biodiverse olive-producing country in the world today.

Shop our 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil, made in Calabria, single origin, and family farmed since 1927.

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