The Olive Tree and the Rise of Athens

Throughout the Mediterranean, the olive tree has long been impor­tant in soci­ety. Its fruit and oil form the foun­da­tion of the Mediterranean diet, and its branches rep­re­sent peace in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; its iconic sil­hou­ette is asso­ci­ated the world over with the Mediterranean land­scape from Cyprus to Tuscany to the Algarve.

Perhaps the story that best shows how cen­tral the olive is to the region’s cul­ture is how Athena became the patron god­dess of the city of Athens.

In ancient Greek mythol­ogy, the city of Athens became the stage for a remark­able con­test between two Olympian deities, Poseidon and Athena. The tale unfolds against the back­drop of ever-present divine rival­ries and the ever-watch­ful gaze of Zeus, ruler of Mount Olympus.

Legend has it that the con­flict between Athena, the god­dess of wis­dom, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, emerged from their desire to claim domin­ion over the flour­ish­ing city of Athens.

The city had drawn the gods’ atten­tion with its strate­gic loca­tion and bur­geon­ing civ­i­liza­tion. Athena and Poseidon, each seek­ing to become the patron deity, engaged in a fierce rivalry that would for­ever shape the des­tiny of the Athenians.

The drama com­menced when news of the rivalry reached Zeus’s ears. To set­tle the dis­pute and deter­mine the right­ful guardian of Athens, Zeus pro­posed a con­test between Athena and Poseidon. In his wis­dom, he declared that the city would be the prize, a bea­con of pros­per­ity and power for the deity who could offer the most valu­able gift to its inhab­i­tants.

The stage for the con­test was set on the sacred hill of the Acropolis, where the gods often con­vened to bear wit­ness to sig­nif­i­cant events. The news of the impend­ing events spread like wild­fire among the Olympian deities, and soon, the gods and god­desses had gath­ered above the city.

Athena and Poseidon took their posi­tions on the hal­lowed ground as the divine assem­bly looked on. The air crack­led with antic­i­pa­tion as Zeus, the ulti­mate arbiter, pre­pared to judge the out­come of their com­pe­ti­tion.

The peo­ple of Athens also flocked to the site, their mor­tal hearts filled with awe and trep­i­da­tion, eager to wit­ness the spec­ta­cle that would deter­mine the fate of their beloved polis.

Poseidon, tri­dent in hand, stepped for­ward first to show­case his prowess. With a mighty swing, he struck the hard rock of the Acropolis, unleash­ing a pow­er­ful tremor that rever­ber­ated through the earth.

The ground quiv­ered, and to the amaze­ment of onlook­ers, an under­ground sea emerged, accom­pa­nied by a salt­wa­ter spring. The dis­play of Poseidon’s mas­tery over the waters was awe-inspir­ing, and for a moment, it seemed as though the god of the seas had secured vic­tory.

However, the peo­ple of Athens, despite their admi­ra­tion for Poseidon’s dis­play of power, faced a dilemma.

Athens was already blessed with abun­dant access to rivers and prox­im­ity to the sea. As Plato famously said, the Greeks lived like frogs around a pond. Poseidon’s gift, though for­mi­da­ble, did not address the prac­ti­cal needs of the city, leav­ing the inhab­i­tants in con­tem­pla­tion.

With the crowd’s mur­murs still echo­ing through the Acropolis, Athena, the wise and strate­gic god­dess, stepped for­ward to present her offer­ing.

Deliberately and grace­fully, she knelt upon the sacred ground and planted a seed. To the aston­ish­ment of all present, within moments, a mag­nif­i­cent olive tree emerged from the earth, its branches laden with rich, swollen fruit.

The beauty of Athena’s gift was not just in its imme­di­ate visual appeal but in its mul­ti­fac­eted sig­nif­i­cance.

The olive tree, with its high-qual­ity tim­ber, pro­vided a valu­able resource for con­struc­tion and crafts­man­ship. Moreover, the olives were a source of nutri­tion for the peo­ple, and the oil extracted from them had diverse appli­ca­tions, from light­ing lamps to heal­ing wounds.

The sym­bol­ism of Athena’s gift went beyond the mate­r­ial realm, though. The olive tree rep­re­sented peace, pros­per­ity and wis­dom, attrib­utes that res­onated deeply with the aspi­ra­tions of the Athenian peo­ple.

The com­bined prac­ti­cal and sym­bolic aspects of Athena’s offer­ing show­cased her divine wis­dom and under­stand­ing of the true needs and desires of the city she aspired to pro­tect.

Zeus, observ­ing the unfold­ing events with his all-see­ing gaze, rec­og­nized the pro­found nature of Athena’s gift. With the wis­dom befit­ting the king of the gods, he declared Athena the vic­tor, and in recog­ni­tion of its new patron god­dess, the city was named in her honor.

Athena’s vic­tory began a har­mo­nious and pros­per­ous era for Athens. The olive tree, a liv­ing tes­ta­ment to the god­dess’ benev­o­lence, became a revered sym­bol within the city.

The peo­ple of Athens embraced the wis­dom and guid­ance of Athena, and under her watch­ful eye, the city flour­ished in the arts, phi­los­o­phy and gov­er­nance.

The tale of Athena and Poseidon’s com­pe­ti­tion for Athens is more than a myth; it reflects the ancient Greeks’ rev­er­ence for wis­dom, strat­egy and the prac­ti­cal aspects of life.

The endur­ing legacy of Athena’s gift and the city’s sub­se­quent pros­per­ity is a tes­ta­ment to the belief that true wis­dom encom­passes power and might and a pro­found under­stand­ing of the needs and aspi­ra­tions of those under one’s pro­tec­tion.

• University of Chicago
• Tufts University