Classical Texts

The vine and the olive are the plants that characterize Mediterranean civilization. To grow them is the sign of a settled, not a nomadic, existence. Their products can be used as part of the daily routine, olive oil for cooking and washing, wine for drinking, or to mark a special occasion in the life of a community, when people would anoint their heads with fragrant oil and drink the best wine. In wine-producing countries wine can be an ordinary drink or a luxury item: classical literature reflects both.