[Red_Devil 232]

Olives and People, Past and Present

Today, many people consider olive oil a health food. Did the ancient Greeks view it in a nutritional sense or was it valued simply for flavor or other properties?
It was not only considered as a health product but something that had in essence a divine power embedded in it--defined in a pragmatic way not in a occult or abstract way. It was a gift of the goddess Athena to the Athenians, therefore, it had the emblematic presence of the goddess.

[Young Werther]

..and this is news?

[varon]

A huge quantity of olive stones on an ancient shipwreck more than 2,000 years old has provided valuable insight into the diet of sailors in the ancient world, researchers in Cyprus said Thursday......................

.........................or, perhaps they drank a lot of martinis ;-)

[Rinnwald]

As a kid, grown up on watching Westerns, I thought Poseidon got shafted losing that mythical contest against Athena. He produced the horse, and she provided the olive tree. Phooey on stinky olives! Give me a horse to ride any day.

Now that I’m grown, and can appreciate Greek culture, well, I’d still rather retire to Arizona and ride a horse.

[Hot Tabasco]

these pips must have been part of the crew's food supply,

...or they drank lots of martinis.

[ADemocratNoMore]

May I suggest that if you ever get a chance, you try “Graber Olives”. Ummm, ummm, ummm!. Tree ripened, green-brown with a unique nut-like flavor. Well worth the price (close to $10 a can). Great for special occasions.

[cerberus]

My favorite fruit!

Masarap!