The olive tree and the Cretan olive oil. ABEA-history and actuality.

Symbol of peace, wisdom, fertility, prosperity, luck, victory. No fruit bearing tree in Greece has been praised, painted, sung, as much as the olive tree. This tree, that loves the sea and the Mediterranean sun, grows even on arid and rocky soils and survives under drought conditions and strong winds. It has accompanied the inhabitants of this land in times of both prosperity, and deprivation and has left its imprint in every aspect of the cultural tradition of the Mediterranean people. In the Greek tradition, when a child is born, an olive tree is planted. The olive tree and the child will grow up together and when the child will become 6 years old, the olive tree will give its first fruit. It will grow with the family, survive through decades, and will still be there for all the coming generations to always remind us the continuity and the evolution of life.

The expected life of an olive tree is 300 to 600 years, yet there are olive trees more than 1,000 years old. The history of the olive tree began around 7.000 years ago in the Mediterranean region and more precisely in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is speculated that it first appeared in Syria, as indicated by various depictions on vessels and by the multitude of myths of the people around the Mediterranean. It was Greece however, through Phoenician merchants,but the place where the domestic cultivation of the olive tree began, most probably was Crete. Archaeological data and historical findings confirm that during the Minoan period (3000-1000 BC) olive cultivation and olive oil trading was widespread in Crete, which also accounts partly for the economic boom that occurred on the island during this period. In the Palace of Knossos pottery (jars) and cisterns of stone for olive oil storage have been found, while at Phaistos one can see findings of an oil mill of that time.

 ABEA was founded in 1889 and is the oldest olive oil industry in Greece. Wherever you are in the world, all it takes is a few drops of our Cretan Olive Oil from ABEA to bring a taste of Cretan life into your home. The Cretan way of life was inherited from the ancient Minoan civilization and became a synonym of Cretan diet. The Cretan Olive Oil of ABEA has excellent organoleptic characteristics. Its unparalleled flavor and exceptional aroma certainly owe themselves to the properties of Cretan soil, the indigenous olive varieties, the high level of sunshine and the dry climate which prevails in most areas of the island.