History of the Olive Tree
The origins of the olive tree are lost in the depths of time. Its history is closely intertwined with that of the Mediterranean civilisations which, for centuries, shaped the destiny of mankind and left a lasting imprint on Western culture.
Evidence of the olive tree’s ancient presence has been found across the Mediterranean region. Olive leaf fossils discovered in Pliocene deposits at Mongardino in Italy, along with fossilised remains found in Upper Paleolithic strata at the Relilai snail hatchery in North Africa, attest to its long history. Archaeological excavations in Spain have also uncovered fragments of wild olive trees and olive stones dating back to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. These findings indicate that the olive tree has existed since at least the twelfth millennium BC.
The wild olive tree is believed to have originated in Asia Minor, where it once grew abundantly in dense forests. From there, it appears to have spread gradually across the region. According to De Candolle (1883), the olive moved from Syria through Anatolia to Greece, although other hypotheses point to lower Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, the Atlas Mountains or even parts of Europe as possible areas of origin. For this reason, Caruso considered the olive tree to be indigenous to the entire Mediterranean Basin, identifying Asia Minor as the birthplace of the cultivated olive around six thousand years ago. Notably, among the ancient civilisations of the region, only the Assyrians and Babylonians were unfamiliar with the olive tree.
Evidence of the olive tree’s ancient presence has been found across the Mediterranean region. Olive leaf fossils discovered in Pliocene deposits at Mongardino in Italy, along with fossilised remains found in Upper Paleolithic strata at the Relilai snail hatchery in North Africa, attest to its long history. Archaeological excavations in Spain have also uncovered fragments of wild olive trees and olive stones dating back to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. These findings indicate that the olive tree has existed since at least the twelfth millennium BC.
The wild olive tree is believed to have originated in Asia Minor, where it once grew abundantly in dense forests. From there, it appears to have spread gradually across the region. According to De Candolle (1883), the olive moved from Syria through Anatolia to Greece, although other hypotheses point to lower Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, the Atlas Mountains or even parts of Europe as possible areas of origin. For this reason, Caruso considered the olive tree to be indigenous to the entire Mediterranean Basin, identifying Asia Minor as the birthplace of the cultivated olive around six thousand years ago. Notably, among the ancient civilisations of the region, only the Assyrians and Babylonians were unfamiliar with the olive tree.
Many scholars consider the area stretching from the southern Caucasus to the Iranian plateau and the Mediterranean coasts of Syria and Palestine to be the original home of the olive tree. From these regions, olive cultivation developed significantly, spreading to the island of Cyprus and Anatolia, and from Crete towards Egypt.
The Phoenicians played a decisive role in the dissemination of the olive tree. Around the 16th century BC, they began spreading olive cultivation across the Greek islands. Between the 14th and 12th centuries BC, the olive tree reached mainland Greece, where it gradually became central to economic and cultural life. By the 4th century BC, its importance was such that the Athenian lawmaker Solon issued decrees regulating olive planting.
From the 6th century BC onwards, olive cultivation expanded throughout the Mediterranean basin, reaching Tripoli, Tunis and the island of Sicily. From there it spread to southern Italy. Some historians, such as Presto, argue that the olive tree had already been present in Italy three centuries before the fall of Troy (1200 BC). Another Roman annalist, Penestrello, maintained that the first olive tree was introduced during the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616–578 BC), possibly arriving from Tripoli or Gabes in present-day Tunisia. From southern Italy, cultivation gradually spread northwards from Calabria to Liguria. When the Romans reached North Africa, they found that Berber communities were already skilled in grafting wild olives and had developed olive cultivation extensively across their territories.
The Romans played a major role in further expanding olive cultivation throughout the Mediterranean. Often described as a “peaceful weapon” of Roman expansion, the olive tree accompanied the spread of Roman settlements and agricultural practices. It was introduced to Marseille around 600 BC and spread from there throughout Gaul. The olive tree appeared in Sardinia during Roman times, while in Corsica it is believed to have been introduced later by the Genoese after the fall of the Roman Empire.
In the Iberian Peninsula, olive growing was first introduced during the maritime expansion of the Phoenicians around 1050 BC. However, it developed more significantly under Roman rule, particularly after the arrival of Scipio in 212 BC and the consolidation of Roman authority in 45 BC. Following the third Punic War, olive cultivation expanded across the Baetica valley and spread towards central and Mediterranean coastal regions of the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal. Later, Arab influence in southern Spain further shaped olive cultivation. Indeed, the Spanish words for olive (aceituna), oil (aceite) and wild olive tree (acebuche), as well as the Portuguese words azeitona and azeite, all derive from Arabic.
The discovery of the Americas in 1492 marked the beginning of the olive tree’s expansion beyond the Mediterranean world. Olive trees were first transported from Seville to the West Indies and later to the American continent. By 1560 olive groves were already being cultivated in Mexico, followed by Peru, California, Chile and Argentina. One of the olive trees brought during the Spanish conquest—the historic Arauco olive tree—still survives today.
In more recent centuries, olive cultivation has continued to spread far beyond its original Mediterranean environment. Today, olive trees are grown in regions as distant as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China. As the French agronomist Duhamel once remarked, “the Mediterranean ends where the olive tree no longer grows.” It could also be said that wherever the sun allows it, the olive tree takes root and continues to spread.
