6000 I.O. /B.C.
The beginning of olive farming with the Semites in Syria

3000
Agricultural knowledge and culture begin to spread from East to West in the Mediterranean. – Middle Eastern traders brought olives to Cyprus and Crete.

2500
Olive oil and its uses are mentioned on the prehistoric earth plates found in Crete.

2000
The ancient Israelites offered olive oil as zakat to God, using it to bless priests and to light holy lamps in temples.

1780
The Code of Hammurabi states that pruning an olive tree more than two feet in a year carries the death penalty.

1700
The olive tree was brought to Egypt. Tutankhamun was crowned of olive branches.

1500
Olive oil emerges as Crete’s most important trade income and is used for cosmetic purposes in Egypt.

1000
In Greece, the culinary uses of olive oil begin to be discovered.

900
Leveraged presses began to be used in olive oil production.

776
It is the first Olympic Games where the winners are given olive branches and olive oil as prizes.

620
It is written in Solon’s olive conservation law that anyone who cuts down or damages an olive tree will be sentenced to death.

600
Italy, Spain, France and North Africa met the olive tree.

200
Archimedes screw (worm screw) began to be used in olive oil presses.

100
Olive trees, olives and olive oil are mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature.

30 I.S./ A.D
Jesus encountered olive branches in Jerusalem.

100
The Romans classify several different olives.

200
With the Roman peace, olive oil production and trade in the Mediterranean experienced a golden age.

325
At the time of Constantine, 2300 oil distributors supply olive oil that the inhabitants of the city use for cooking, cosmetic massage, body care, lamps and other things.

1000
Olive oil is becoming scarce and is sometimes used as a substitute for cash, but its most important use is in religious rites.

1300
Olive oil has become the staple food of Mediterranean countries.

1500 – 1600
Spanish explorers and missionaries transport olive oil to the New World.

1524
The first olive trees are planted in Mexico.

1550
Leonardo da Vinci designed the olive oil press.

1600
Olive production started in Peru, West Indies, Chile and Mexico

1700
Franciscan missionaries planted olives on the 600-kilometer-long California coast in the early 1800s and transported olives to 19 of the 21 settlements.

1717
Vincenzo Mela obtained pomace oil with the Italian pomace washing method.

1820
Hydraulic presses working with waterpower started to be used in olive oil production.

1870
First commercial olive production begins in California.

1887
Vincent Van Gogh painted 16 paintings of olive groves.

1900
King Umberto I of Italy forbids the cutting of olive trees in Italy, which is still in effect in some parts of Italy.

1920
European immigrants coming to America introduce olive oil into American cuisine.

1927
Centrifuge technology, the pioneer of the continuous system (Continue), was applied in olive oil production.