Music accompanied most, if not all, rites of passage, communal events, and private life in ancient Greece. Below are a few of the most well-known and important instruments of the ancient Greek world. I’ve also included origin stories and myths for some of the Greek instruments — the gods, places, and plants that were connected to the sounds of the ancient landscape.

For the ancient Greeks, the Olive was a sacred symbol of divine blessing and wisdom associated particularly with the goddess Athena, as well as with Zeus and the patron of human culture, Aristaeus. In this podcast episode, we discuss the ancient uses of the Olive, as well as discuss the Olive as a teacher of perspective and a reminder of the ancestral gifts of awe, gratitude and humility.

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.