The olive tree has been celebrated and referenced in the cultural works of every society. Thomas Jefferson wrote: "The olive tree is surely the richest gift of Heaven". Aldous Huxley wrote: "…I like them all, but especially the olive. For what it symbolizes, first of all, peace with its leaves and joy with its golden oil." Federico Garcia Lorca wrote: "Angels with long braids and hearts of olive oil." Lawrence Durrell wrote in Prospero's Cell, "The entire Mediterranean seems to rise out of the sour, pungent taste of black olives between the teeth. A taste older than meat or wine, a taste as old as cold water. Only the sea itself seems as ancient a part of the region as the olive and its oil, that like no other products of nature, have shaped civilizations from remotest antiquity to the present."

The Greeks regard the olive tree as a symbol of euphoria, purification, victory and honor. The foliage of the olive tree has been used for centuries to honor victory, wisdom and peace. In Genesis, an olive branch was returned to Noah on the ark by a dove, signaling the end of the great flood. The Olympic Games winners in ancient Greece were given olive-wreaths from Kroneio as trophies. The olive and its oil have always engaged the intellect, the senses and the passions of the Greek world for the past four thousand years. Olive oil always held a sacred place in the solemn rites of the Greek religious life. The ancient Greek gods were believed to be born under the branches of the olive tree. In Modern Greek Orthodox religion, spiritually purifying olive oil has a myriad of uses, from baptisms to the illumination of church and shrine lamps throughout the Greek world. Greeks say, "We ate bread and olives together" to denote a good friendship. Today there are more than 686,000 olive producers in Greece (representing 6.5% of the total population) who care for more than 137 million olive trees. The olive is so much a part of the culture that today Greece is the only country in Europe that still allows its civil servants time off to return to their villages of origin for the annual olive harvest.

 Lawrence Durrell wrote that, "The entire Mediterranean seems to rise out of the sour, pungent taste of black olives between the teeth."