Collection: Greek Olive Oil

Nature gave Greece a lot of wealth and the main one, of course, is Greek olive oil. For several millennia of its existence, “liquid gold”, as it is called here, has become a part of Greek culture.

The cultivation of olive trees and olive oil production has been part of the life of Mediterranean peoples since time immemorial. Olive oil has always been vitally important to the ancient Greeks. It was eaten, used as cosmetics and paint when creating decorative vases. The olive branch in Ancient Greece was a symbol of victory and wisdom; the winner of the Olympic Games was decorated with an olive wreath.

Moreover, olive oil in Greece was also used as a medicine. Hippocrates described the positive effect of olive oil on the body and mentioned in his writings about 60 diseases from which olive oil can heal.

It is reliably known that the Minoans, representatives of the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean, began to produce the very first Greek olive oil. This happened around 4-5 millennia BC.

We do not know exactly when and how the ancient Greeks got acquainted with the olive tree. All we have is the myth of a dispute between the god of the sea Poseidon and the goddess of war and wisdom Athena. The winner was to be the one who would make more useful gifts to the people who settled in the newly built city in Attica. Poseidon hit the trident on the rock, it split, and in this place a salt spring opened. A horse came out of the water - a symbol of strength and power, an invaluable assistant in the war. When the turn of Athena came, she stuck a spear into the ground, and it turned into an olive tree - a symbol of peace and a source of food and energy. People considered Athena's gift more important and named the new city in her honour.

The taste of Greek olive oil depends on many factors: the production technology, region, soil, olive variety and harvest time. Having traveled around Greece, you will realize how different olive oil can be from different regions. You will be able to see differences in density, taste, aroma and even in color, which will vary from dark green to bright golden.

One of the best regions in which Greek olive oil is produced is the island of Lesvos. Here, on rocky hills, olives of the varieties Kolovi, Adramytiani and Latholia grow. An unusually tasty and aromatic olive oil is produced from a mixture of these three varieties.

Here on our website, Greek olive oil from the island of Lesvos is represented by the best brands of the Protoulis family: AEGEAN GOLD, AEGAEA and PROTOLEO.