63 Olive growing and olive oil production in Portugal JOSÉ GOUVEIA Olive specialist Origin and spread of th e olive tree Some studies suggest that the olive tree originated in Asia Minor. Others believe that its cultivation spread from Syria to Greece via Anatolia. It is also thought to have originated in Lower Egypt, Ethiopia, the Atlas Mountains, certain regions of Europe, or southern Caucasus, The domestication of the olive tree began in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, that is to say, between 10,000 and 3,000 years BC, possibly in Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Egypt (2,000 years BC) and then to the islands of Asia Minor and mainland Greece (1,800 years BC). stretching from Iran to the Mediterranean coasts of Syria and Palestine. The wild olive tree (Olea europaea, var. sylvestris), zambujeiro in “Where the olive tree does not grow, the Mediterranena dies.” It was theaScredTree! In the first half of the early first millennium BC, the olive tree spread through Assyria. From the 6th century BC onwards, it spread throughout the Mediterranean basin, Portuguese, is thought to have spread naturally, perhaps carried by migratory birds such as thrushes and others, to wherever it found climatic conditions favourable to its growth. “Where the olive tree does not grow, the Mediterranean dies.” Over the centuries, the olive tree has been a symbol of victory and peace, of progress, abundance, wisdom, justice and fertility. Champions were crowned with olive branches, and with the oil from its fruit, the darkness of homes was dispelled, delicacies were seasoned, ailments were treated and athletes were anointed. It was the Sacred Tree! reaching Libya, Tunisia and the island of Sicily. From Sicily, it was taken by the Greeks to southern Italy, where it spread all over the country. The Phoenicians and Egyptians in the 9th century BC, the Greeks in the 7th century BC, and later the Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC arrived in North Africa by sea. The proximity between Tingitania (modern-day Morocco and the south of the Iberian Peninsula, and the geographical and climatic similarities between these two regions, meant that they shared many aspects of olive cultivation. At that time, these peoples exchanged luxury goods, such as olive oil and wine, for the foodstuffs they required.
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