【简译】古代地中海地区的橄榄

2022-09-23 10:08 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

Olives and olive oil were not only an important component of the ancient Mediterranean diet but also one of the most successful industries in antiquity. Cultivation of the olive spread with Phoenician and Greek colonization from Asia Minor to Iberia and North Africa and fine olive oil became a great trading commodity right through to the Roman period and beyond. The olive also came to have a wider cultural significance, most famously as a branch of peace and as the victor's crown in the ancient Olympic Games.

橄榄和橄榄油不仅是古代地中海饮食中的重要组成部分，也是古代最成功的产业之一。橄榄的种植随着腓尼基人和希腊人从小亚细亚到伊比利亚与北非的殖民化而传播开来，精致橄榄油一直到罗马时期及以后都是一种重要的贸易商品。橄榄还具有更广泛的文化意义，最著名的是橄榄枝编制的和平树枝和古代奥林匹克运动会中胜利者的皇冠。

地域分布情况

The olive was first cultivated around 5000 BCE, or even earlier, on the Carmel coast of ancient Israel. Here simple olive presses have been excavated at the Neolithic site of Kfar Samir. The success of the industry is attested by records of olive oil exports to Greece and Egypt throughout the 3rd millennium BCE. Greece started to produce its own olives on Minoan Crete and Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age and, thereafter, on the mainland. The Greeks, like the peoples of the Levant, were soon producing a surplus of olives and olive oil so that they built up a lucrative export industry. Such was its importance that it was the only permissible export in the celebrated laws created by Solon (c. 640 – c. 560 BCE). With the process of Phoenician and Greek colonization olive trees (Olea europea) sprang up across the ancient Mediterranean where all that was needed was warm summers and relatively light rainfall for these hardy trees to thrive.

橄榄树最早可能出现于公元前5000年左右，甚至更早，在古代以色列的卡梅尔海岸开始种植。在以色列海法的新石器时代遗址中，考古学家已经发掘出简单的橄榄榨油机。在整个公元前三千年中，橄榄油出口到希腊和埃及的记录证明了这个行业在地中海地区的成功。希腊在青铜时代晚期开始在米诺斯克里特岛和塞浦路斯生产自己的橄榄，此后又在大陆上种植生产。希腊人和黎凡特人一样，很快发现橄榄和橄榄油产能过剩，因此他们建立了一个有利可图的出口行业。由于橄榄重要性，在梭伦（约公元前640年-约公元前560年）制定的著名法律中，它是唯一允许的出口产品。随着腓尼基人和希腊人的殖民化进程，橄榄树（Olea europea）种植在整个古地中海地区兴起，在地中海地区种植只需要温暖的夏天和相对较少的降雨量，这些坚韧的树木就能茁壮成长。

Trees were spread to new areas by planting cuttings and ovules (trunk growths), or grafting domesticated trees onto wild ones. The Romans planted their cuttings in dedicated nursery beds to help them on their way. Long-lived and drought-resistant, the tree was a handily low-maintenance form of farming. Olive growers usually planted their trees in amongst fruit trees and reared animals so as to have some income in case of an olive crop failure, and it was an easy way to keep groves grass and weed free. The residue from pressing oil from olives could also be used as feed, especially for pigs.

橄榄树通过种植插条和胚珠（树干生长），或将驯化的树木嫁接到野生的树木上，被传播到新地区。罗马人将他们的插条种植在专门的苗圃里，以帮助其发育成长。橄榄树寿命长，耐干旱，是一种方便的低维护的作物。橄榄种植者通常将他们的树种在果树和饲养的动物之间，以便在橄榄歉收的情况下有一些额外收入，而且这也是保持小树林无草和杂草的一个简单方法。从橄榄树上榨出的油的残渣也可以作为饲料，特别是作为猪饲料。

From the 1st to 3rd centuries CE the Romans spread olive cultivation to more marginal growing areas such as central Tunisia and western Libya, which required extensive irrigation systems to make the farming viable. The Romans' dependency on olive oil is illustrated by Septimius Severus' decision to collect it as part of the taxes imposed on provinces and then redistribute it to the populace of Rome. As the Roman Empire expanded, so too did demand for olive oil, with Constantinople becoming one of the biggest importers. Indeed, the establishment of a huge number of olive farms (and vineyards) across Syria and Cilicia to meet this demand are credited with creating a regional economic boom in the 3rd-5th centuries CE.

从公元1世纪到3世纪，罗马人将橄榄种植推广到更多的边缘种植区，如突尼斯中部和利比亚西部，这些地区需要广泛的灌溉系统来使耕作可行。塞提米乌斯·塞维鲁斯决定将橄榄油作为对各省征收的税收的一部分，然后将其重新分配给罗马的民众，这说明了罗马人对橄榄油的依赖性。随着罗马帝国的扩张，人们对橄榄油的需求也越来越大，君士坦丁堡成为橄榄油最大的进口国之一。事实上，为了满足这种需求，罗马人在叙利亚和西里西亚建立了大量的橄榄园（和葡萄园），这在公元3-5世纪创造了地区经济的繁荣。

The largest olive producers in the ancient world then were Greece, Italy, the Levant, the north coast of Africa, Spain, and Syria. Places which enjoyed a particularly high reputation in antiquity for fine quality oil included Attica, Baetica (in Spain), Cyrenaica (Libya), Samos, and Venafrum (Italy).

古代世界最大的橄榄生产国是希腊、意大利、黎凡特、非洲北岸、西班牙和叙利亚。在古代，因优质橄榄油而享有极高声誉的地方包括阿提卡、贝提卡（西班牙）、昔兰尼加（利比亚）、萨摩斯和维纳夫伦（意大利）。

生产

Table-olives (made edible by salting) were eaten, but most of the crops produced went into making oil. Although oil was a common product, it was not necessarily a cheap one and, as with wine, there were different grades of quality. Olive trees produce a full harvest only every other year, sometime from October to December, and the Greeks believed that the earlier they were harvested (when still green) and pressed, the finer the oil. However, leaving collection later in the season allows for the olives to continue growing, ripen so that they become black, and so more oil can be pressed from them. The finest quality oil, as today, came from the first pressing and when the mash had the minimum number of stones in it.

人们食用橄榄（盐渍），但生产的大部分橄榄都被用来制油。尽管橄榄油是一种常见的产品，但它不一定是一种廉价的产品，而且和葡萄酒一样，有不同的质量等级。橄榄树每隔一年才收获一次，从10月到12月的某个时候是橄榄收获期，希腊人认为越早采摘（当橄榄还是绿色的时候）和压榨，油就越优质。然而，在这个季节的晚些时候不收集，可以让橄榄继续生长，成熟，使它们变成黑色，因此可以从它们身上榨出更多的橄榄油。像今天一样，最优质的橄榄油来自于第一次压榨，而且是在醪液中含有最少石头的时候。

Olives were crushed either underfoot (the crusher wearing wooden sandals), with pestle and mortar, using a stone roller, or in presses, the first mechanical ones coming from Klazomenai in Turkey. Dating to the 6th century BCE, these used a beam anchored to a wall and a stone weight to increase the pressure and efficiency of the press. The earliest known presses in Greece come from Olynthos. Several examples have been excavated which used circular millstones to crush the olives. One of the best-preserved olive presses comes from Hellenistic Argilos in northern Greece. As the machine evolved, a winch was added to bring down the beam with greater force.

橄榄被工人踩在脚下（压榨者穿着木制凉鞋），用杵和臼，用石辊，或者用压榨机压榨，最早的机械压榨机来自土耳其的克拉佐美纳伊。这些压榨机可追溯到公元前6世纪，它们使用一个固定在墙上的横梁和石头重物来增加压力和压榨效率。希腊已知最早的压榨机来自奥林索斯。有几个压榨机已经被挖掘出来，它们使用圆形磨石来压榨橄榄。保存最完好的橄榄压榨机之一来自希腊北部的希腊化的Argilos。随着机器的发展，人们在压榨机上增加了一个绞盘，可以用更大的力量将横梁下拉。

As with most areas of everyday life, the Romans went one step further and made oil on a much larger scale. Large estates are described in detail by such authors as Cato. The Roman writer describes in his De agricultura the annual yield of one producer as between 50,000 and 100,000 litres of oil. The Romans first used a circular stone press (trapetum) which consisted of a large stone bowl (mortarium) into which the olives were poured and then crushed under two concave stones (orbes) attached to a central beam (cupa) fixed to an iron pivot (columella). This apparatus then slotted onto a central post (miliarium) set into the bowl which allowed the stones to be turned inside it. These rotary stone mills often harnessed animal power using mules to further increase efficiency. The Romans also moved on from the traditional beam and winch press to screw presses which dramatically increased the crushing pressure. This helped meet the ever-growing demand for olive oil as the empire expanded and resulted in production quantities not seen again until the 19th century CE.

与日常生活的大多数领域一样，罗马人更进一步，在更大的范围内压榨橄榄油。加图等作家对大型橄榄庄园进行了详细描述。这位罗马作家在他的De agricultura中描述了一个庄园的橄榄油年产量为50,000到100,000升油。罗马人首先使用了一种圆形的石头压榨机（trapetum），包括一个大的石碗（mortarium），将橄榄倒入其中，然后在两个凹形的石头（orbes）下压榨，这两个石头连接到一个固定在铁枢轴（columella）上的中央梁（cupa）。然后，这个装置被安装在碗里的中央柱子（miliarium）上，使石头可以在里面转动。这些旋转式石磨经常利用骡子的动物力量来进一步提高效率。罗马人还从传统的横梁和绞盘式压榨机转向螺旋式压榨机，大大增加了压榨压力。帝国的扩张促进了人们对橄榄油不断增长的需求，这种生产量直到公元19世纪才再次出现。

Once pressed, the oil was drained off into a large stone settling tank set in the floor of the press room. Here the liquid mix of water, olive juice, and oil would settle and the oil rose to the surface where it could be skimmed off using a ladle or, alternatively, a tap in the base of the tank could be opened to drain away the water. When ready the finished oil was then stored in terracotta containers. At a pressing workshop on Delos six large pithoi vases held up to 4,000 litres of oil. There are records that oil produced in North Africa was shipped to Rome in oilskins. The most common storage vessel, though, was the amphora. These were very often stamped with such information as the producer's mark, place of manufacture, or production date, and then, if not used locally, were shipped across the Mediterranean.

榨油后，油被排到一个大的石头沉淀池中，沉淀池设置在榨油室的地板上。在这里，水、橄榄汁和油的混合液会沉淀下来，油会上升到表面，可以用勺子把它撇下来，或者，可以打开罐子底部的水阀，把水排走。准备好后，成品油被储存在陶土容器中。在德洛斯岛的一个榨油作坊，六个大的希腊壶可容纳4000升油。有记录显示，在北非生产的橄榄油被装在油皮船中运往罗马。不过，最常见的储存容器是双耳瓶。这些容器上往往印有生产者的标记、制造地点或生产日期等信息，当然，如果不在当地使用，这些橄榄油会被运往地中海彼岸销售。

用途

Not only were olives and olive oil an important part of the Mediterranean diet and cooking process (and still are, of course) but the oil produced from pressed olives was also used for many other purposes. Greeks and Romans used it to clean their bodies after exercise – smearing it on so that it collected dirt and sweat and then scraping it off using a metal instrument called a strigil. Olive oil was used as a fuel in terracotta (and more rarely metal) lamps, as an ingredient of perfumes, in religious rituals, for massages, as a multi-purpose lubricant, and even prescribed as a medicine.

橄榄和橄榄油不仅是地中海饮食和烹饪过程中的重要部分（现在仍然是），而且从压榨橄榄中产生的油也被用于其他用途。希腊人和罗马人在运动后用橄榄油来清洁身体——把它涂抹在身上，使其吸收污垢和汗水，然后用一种叫做涂抹器的金属工具把它刮掉。橄榄油还可以作陶土灯（少数是金属灯）的燃料，作为香水的成分，用于宗教仪式，按摩，作为多用途的润滑剂，甚至被当作药物食用。

文化的影响

The importance of the olive to Greek culture is seen in the appearance of the olive branch on Classical Athenian coins and its use in the crowns of victory at the Olympic Games. The Athenians considered the olive tree a gift from their patron goddess Athena, and this very tree grew on the acropolis of the city. They had an entire sacred grove of olive trees (moriae) too, from which oil was pressed and placed into uniquely decorated amphora vases to be given as prizes in the annual Panathenaic festival.

橄榄对希腊文化的重要性体现在古典雅典钱币上出现的橄榄枝以及在奥运会上使用的胜利之冠。雅典人认为橄榄树是他们的守护神雅典娜的礼物，而这种树就生长在雅典卫城上。他们也有一整片神圣的橄榄树林（Moriae），从这些树上榨出的油被放入装饰独特的双耳花瓶中，作为每年泛雅典娜节的奖品。

Olive branches came to signify peace. Herodotus tells us that in the early 5th century BCE Aristagoras of Miletus carried one when he went to negotiate help from Cleomenes during the Ionian Revolt against Persia so that he would not be turned away from the Spartan king. Olive branches were also carried by pilgrims who visited the sacred oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The Romans continued this association and often depicted the god Mars, in his lesser-known guise as the bringer of peace, carrying an olive branch.

橄榄枝象征着和平。希罗多德告诉我们，公元前5世纪初，米利都的亚里士多德在爱奥尼亚起义对抗波斯时，为了不被斯巴达国王拒之门外，去和克里昂米尼一世谈判，就带了一根橄榄枝。朝圣者们也带着橄榄枝去拜访德尔斐的阿波罗神谕。罗马人延续了这种联系，并经常描绘马尔斯神，在他不太出名的情况下，作为和平的使者，手持橄榄枝。