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It is said that Aristaios, son of the nymph Kyrene and Apollon,
created the first olive tree, and he later transferred the
secrets of the tree and its fruit to Acropos, founder of Athens.
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The olive tree has connections with all ancient civilisations
that settled in the Mediterranean basin. These civilisations
attributed great properties to olive trees, including holiness,
eternity, peace, victory and fertility.
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It is not known precisely who started using olive oil. Some
authors report that it was Phoenician traders and others suggest
that it was the Greek, through the colonies that settled along
the Mediterranean.
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With the arrival of the Scipio legions (2nd century BC) olive
groves were planted in the Betican fertile plains.
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The Arabs brought in new ways of using oil. They passed on the
use of oil in cooking and for therapeutic purposes.
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During the Reconquest and for the next few centuries, the oil
and wool trades represented the largest sources of income in the
Spanish kingdom.
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At present, Spain is the biggest olive oil producer, accounting
for more than 30% of total olive oil production world-wide.
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Olive growing and oil production accounts for a total of 500
million labour hours per year, and gives work to millions of
days’ work each year. |