Ancient Greek Olives - Gifts from A Goddess

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Defense in the Matter of the Olive Stump by Lysias

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza

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#tastinghistory #olives #ancientgreece

[TastingHistory]

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[wonderwomanwarriorforpeace]

Olives can’t be eaten unless they’ve been soaked in brine—AKA salt water. So if you think about it, Athena provided the fruit, but Poseidon provided the way to actually eat it.

[MrLordDorfmann]

Likely the reason they called them “white olives” is because they were lighter than black olives. It’s the same sort of generalization that we use for red and white wine. White wines are often yellowish in color, while reds can be quite purple. The norse had a similar thing with their gold coming in 2 varieties “white” and “red” with “red gold” having a slightly coppery luster to it.

[katerinahikesalot]

From a Greek (me): Rinse brined olives first, drain/pat dry, and then toss with olive oil before using. I always rinse those olive bar olives first, or any packaged Greek olives because they are WAY too salty. That's for preserving, not eating.

[Lauren.E.O]

Renting ALL the olive presses out of pettiness is what we know as a Power Move

[mahna_mahna]

I ordered bruschetta on a first date once. Kept repeatedly spilling the toppings all over my lap and everywhere.

She still mentions it 14 years later. :)

[djnoona]

"I don't see how a dove could carry an olive branch"

Doves are cousins to the pigeon: both members of Columbidae family have excellent lifting skills. Pigeons were used as carriers since pre-biblical times. A bird can carry approximately 10% of its body weight. Given the average weight of a dove at 300-500 grams, this means the bird can carry approximately 30-50 grams easily. Therefore it is plausible that a dove can carry an entire small branch.

[alexsis]

Never forget my grandfather telling me about when he was on leave in Italy during WW2 and found an olive tree and thought he'd try one fresh from the tree. 70 years later he still swore it was the absolute worst thing he'd ever tried in his life.

[Lauren.E.O]

Lysias defending himself from the high crime of having an olive stump on his land was more passionate than most episodes of Law & Order

[thomaswalsh]

Fun fact: the ancient Greeks, and the Roman’s after them, used olive oil to wash themselves. They would coat themselves in it, and then scrape it off with what was effectively a full wooden razor - and hopefully scrape any dirt away with it.

A historian (my advisor’s old advisor, in fact) tested the efficacy of this on his children, washing them in this way instead of normal baths for a few weeks. Apparently it worked quite well

[Bucorax]

To whom it may concern: The Project "Genolive" mapped the distribution of Olive Trees in the mediterranean and its origins by the use of DNA fragments. Exciting stuff!

[juliegolick]

Max: "I'm gonna let it sit for a while so all the flavors can--"
Babish: "--get to know each other."

[caseychapman]

this looks like a good meal regardless of being like 1000 years old. cheese and oil are timeless

[brucemcpherlain]

Athena was the godess of wisdom and war: as for the "war" part: she was godess of war as in careful planning, cunning and strategy, the aspects of warfare which are related to wisdom. Ares was the god of war as in bloodlust, violence and rage.

[Lethanian]

I don't know if such a cheese would be available abroad (I live in Greece) but there is a byproduct cheese of the creation of Feta cheese called "Manouri" which is soft, fatty, sweet and barely salted and would make for a good substitute for feta for such a dish!

[Lauren.E.O]

Heracles: *can slay a thousand enemies with his bare hands*
Also Heracles: *can’t figure out how clothing works*

[zennvirus]

And now we get a big hint as to why goats were associated with the Devil: they would desecrate the holiest of fruits (olives). Would make it the pinacle of irony if you use goat cheese for this relish, though.

[acashasha]

I've noticed that Max had been poking fun at his own weight lately. So relatable but also sad. I just wanna say, Max, you are a gorgeous human being and I'm so glad you have found joy and success here with us on YouTube. We love you and Jose and wish you the best mentally, physically and emotionally. Take care.

[fluffytom]

They didn't call them "white" olives as in the colour white, but rather in the meaning of "light coloured" olives, as opposed to "dark coloured" olives.
Coulours in Ancient Greek weren't as specific as ours today, each word/colour could mean a wide range of shades.

[arisgaliatsatos]

As a Greek, i didnt even know this was an ancient dish. I still eat it almost every day in the summer with olive oil and oregano.