10/11/2024
******This is why I named my lovely pure olive oil soap Athena . ********************** In the heart of the Acropolis, there stands a sacred olive tree.
Over the centuries, the tree has endured wars, eternally surviving, or a branch has always been saved and replanted.
For over 2,500 years, the tree has remained a worthy symbol of Athens, an undying and ancient representation of prosperity, peace, hope, and resurrection.According to Greek mythology, the cherished tree of the Acropolis was planted by the Goddess Athena herself and is part of the founding myth of Athens.
Legend has it that Athena and Poseidon argued over the control of Athens, and so Zeus proposed a contest between them, deeming that city would be a prize to the winner.
Athena and Poseidon met on the hill of the Acropolis and Zeus, the Olympian gods, and the people of Athens gathered to witness the contest between the two great gods.Poseidon struck his three-pronged trident upon the hard rock of the Acropolis, shaking the earth. An underground sea was created, unleashing a saltwater spring. However ancient Athens was a city with access to plenty of rivers and close to the sea; thus Poseidon’s gift was met with limited enthusiasm.
When it was Athena’s turn, she kneeled and planted something on the ground. Within minutes a fully grown olive tree rose from the earth, rich fruit bountifully adorning its branches. The tree, with its high-quality timber and an abundance of nutritional fruit that could also be used to make olive oil with multiple applications, was clearly the superior gift.
Proclaimed as the competition winner, Athena gave her name to the city, which was subsequently called Athens.
The dramatic showdown between the two mighty Olympians is immortalised in stone on the West pediment sculptures of the Parthenon.
While the tree now standing today may not be the original one, the foundation myth of Athens explains why it is held so sacredly, not just by Athenians, but by all Greeks.
