Despite over 5,000 years under human cultivation, the Olea europaea remains wild-looking and ancient, with some trees surpassing 1,000 or 2,000 years of age.  Surviving fires, drought, and even a complete cutting back to the stump, the olive tree will just not give up. This is a formidable, primordial, and powerful tree, a teacher of perspective, and a reminder of the ancestral gifts of awe, gratitude and humility.  Associated with the goddess Athena as well as Zeus and the patron of human culture, Aristaeus, the Olive was a sacred symbol of divine blessing and wisdom.