History of Olive and Why Olive is Symbol of Peace?

Throughout the history olive has represented peace and hope in different cultures and for some others olive tree and its fruit have been accepted to be holy. It is for this reason that things other than olive were capable of attracted human life more than olive very little. Olive that has a history 10 thousand years to present has been the source of many legend by way of being considered holy from Greek athletes, saints and first medical doctors to gods and goddesses of old history.

Before his death Adam begged for mercy from god and appointed his son Sit for this. Sit took three seeds from the tree of good and evil in the Garden of Eden and placed them inside the mouth of his father. When his father was buried the seeds sprout out and grew into an olive tree, cedar tree and cypress tree.

When we look into the traditions that come along from past to present, the leaves of the olive tree have symbolized victory, wisdom and peace; the dove returning back to Noah’s Ark with a branch of olive tree has been considered a sign indicating the end of that great big flood disaster. Other than the geography that we are in, it is rather impossible to see the historical traces of olive in terms of its place whether in the past or in the present daily life.

There are two opinions on the subject of the origin of olive: first one is that olive made its first appearance in the Aegean and Mediterranean Parts of Anatolia and Syria and Lebanon and second opinion on the other hand argues that its origin is Egypt and the parts of Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Mesopotamia civilization which was created by Assyrians and Babylonians were familiar with olive they even considered it as trading tool. It is seeing from the pots and pans that have been found in the excavations carried out in Urla and Çesme that they have been used in producing olive and products of olives and that they go all the way back to the 3rd century Before Christ (B.C.). Another conclusion arrived from the excavations is that the olive has an industry of at least five thousand years. In the Hellenistic era olive tree used to be considered holly and people who cut olive trees down used to be punished with death or sent into exile.

Coming across with the amphora that have been used for the purpose of storing and carrying olive found in Urla also in colonies at Black Sea and other set of locations indicates that olive was an importing and exporting product at the same time. Special vessels were being assembled at Mediterranean in order to perform trading. Olive business expanded in time and spread into areas, where climate and soil were suitable such as Australia, South Africa and China.

It is stated in Koran that olive tree comes from Mount Sinai and oil is obtained from its fruits and that this oil is used to give flavor to food. It is rather hard to grow, look after and maintain an olive tree but the tree pays for this back in return with generosity. Perhaps this is the reason why the olive is the symbol of peace.

The Dove, the Olive Branch, and
the Golden Spiral

The now ubiquitous peace symbol of a dove and olive branch has an unusual history. Though it was initially used by Christians, it is derived from a number of sources. The Biblical story of Noah and the Flood tells of a dove returning to the Arc with a freshly plucked olive leaf. The leaf reveals proof of land, the end of the flood, and for Christians the parallel of baptism. In this context the symbol did not, however, specifically carry the connection of peace.

Christians apparently derived the dove and olive branch as a symbol of peace from two sources. In the New Testament, the Spirit of God that descended upon Jesus during his baptism is compared to a dove. In early Christian art the dove is often used to represent the peace of the soul.

The use of the olive branch, on the other hand, dates back to ancient Greece, five centuries before Christ. Irene, the goddess of peace, was said to be very fond of the olive. To the ancient Greeks the olive tree represented abundance and was also believed to be able drive away evil spirits.

In more modern times, it is not until 1949, when Picasso created the poster for the World Peace Congress that the symbol regained prominence as the great symbol of peace.

In creating a painting to suggest peace and harmony, I have not only employed this famous peace symbol but I have also use some famous geometric harmony. The Golden Spiral occurs frequently in natural design, leading many designers to believe in a divine quality to its beauty and harmony.

In this painting, I have employed this famous spiral with a little twist. To suggest the need for humanity to “stretch” its capacity for harmony I have correspondingly stretched the spiral in this painting’s composition.

The center of interest, the lead dove’s eye, is positioned at the spiral’s eye. The dove’s left wing approximates the initial arc as the tree line picks up the spiral and the remaining two doves are arranged along the spiral as well.