Thales and Olive Oil

Thales

Thales, (c. 624 BC – c. 546 BC), one of the Seven Sages of Greece, philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, “Father of Science,” might have created the world’s first monopoly… and it was all about olive oil! He “predicted olive oil demand at the right moment and became rich.” He was relatively poor before he decided to prove to his Greek neighbors that philosophy could be used to amass great sums of money. He developed what we know now in trading as “futures” and “options.”

Because olive oil at the time of Thales in the was as valuable as gold and oil are in our present day economy, Thales set out to rent all the olive presses in the Aegean Islands. He correctly “predicted that olive presses…would be needed at a specific period of time (and) foresaw a good year for olives. So he agreed with the presses owners that he would rent them at a specific time in the future, with a discount for him, something that constitutes also the first creation and use of the futures. And this is what followed next. The following year, after a very good harvest, Thales became immediately rich after controlling the olive presses price and proved to his citizens that he could easily be a good businessman if he would like to be so. So, there was a monopoly made because Thales was the owner of the Olive oil presses at a time, so he secondly applied what we today use to call as options.” (http://epochproducts.com/blog/the-first-monopoly-in-the-world-was-about-olive-oil/)

For over 5,000 years, olive oil has been an integral part of the human diet. It was probably the first “branded” product and stored in intricate and beautiful glass jars.

Today, we still value olive oil and understand that the Ancient Greeks, primarily Thales, truly understood its value. Olive oil is not only delicious, but good for us! We use it to flavor our foods, in soaps and shampoos and to heal (http://www.bioesti.com/index.php/importance-of-olive-in-ancient-greece). The olive branch is a universally recognized symbol of peace and a crown made from olive twigs still signify Olympic achievements.

Within the Hippocrates code, over sixty medical uses of olive oil can be found, the most common are mainly for healing of dermatological diseases...Hippocrates mentions that: “using oil in winter helps the body remain warm, because it stops the heat from escaping your body. In summer when you mix oil with water and rub it on your body, it nourishes it and prevents overheating”.

Plutarch in his book ‘ethics’ refers to mastitis treatment with a mixture of olive oil and water, also keeping gums healthy and teeth white. In the temple of Asklepius oil was used in order to create ointments and medicines. Olive tea and olive flowers and their leaves were used as medicine for stomach ache and for irritation of eyes.

Look for pure olive oils, taste and compare their nuances, and incorporate them in your everyday cooking. You’ll agree that good old Thales had something after all!