William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875, p 825.

OLIVE GATHERING (Oleitas, Olivitas). The olive usually comes to maturity, in Italy, about the middle or the latter end of December, but, according to the views of the proprietors, it was gathered in various stages of its progress, either while yet green (alba), or when changing colour (varia), or when fully ripe (nigra), but it was considered highly desirable that it should never be allowed to remain so long as to fall of its own accord. The fruit was picked as far as possible with the bare hand, but such as could not be reached from the ground or by the aid of ladders was beaten down with long reeds, which were preferred to sticks as less likely to injure the bark of the branches and the young bearers, a want of attention to this precaution on the part of the gatherers (leguli) being in the opinion of Varro the cause why olive trees so seldom yielded a full crop for two years consecutively (Varr. R. R. i.55; Plin. H. N. xv.3 s6; Geopon. ix.7).

DIFFERENT USES. The fruit (bacca) of the olive was for the most part employed for one of two purposes.

1. It was eaten as a fruit, either fresh, pickled, or preserved in various ways.

2. It was pressed so as to yield the oil and other juices which it contained. And again, the oil was employed for a variety of purposes, but chiefly

a. As an article of food.
b. For anointing the body, and in this case was frequently made a vehicle for perfumes (unguenta).
g. For burning in lamps.
PRESERVING OLIVES (Condere oleas, olivarum conditura, conditio).

Olives might be preserved in various ways, either when unripe (albae, acerbae), or ripe (nigrae), or half-ripe (variae, fuscae).

Green olives, the Pausia being used principally for this purpose, were preserved in strong brine (muria), according to the modern practice, or they were beaten together into a mass, steeped in water which was frequently changed, then pressed and thrown with salt into a jar of vinegar, to which various spices or flavouring condiments were added, especially the seeds of the Pistachia Lentiscus, or Gum Mastich tree, and fennel. Sometimes, instead of vinegar, inspissated must (sapa, defrutum, or sweet wine (passum) or honey were employed, and sometimes salt pickle, vinegar, must and oil, seem to have been all mixed together.

Half-ripe olives (and here again the Pausia was the favourite) were picked with their stalks and covered over in a jar with the best oil. In this manner they retained the flavour of the fresh fruit for more than a year.

Ripe olives, especially the orchitis, were sprinkled with salt, and left untouched for five days, the salt was then shaken off, and they were dried in the sun. Or they were preserved sweet in defrutum without salt.

The peculiar preparation called Epityrum was made by taking olives in any of the three stages, extracting the stones, chopping up the pulp and throwng the fragments into a jar with oil, vinegar, coriander seeds, cumin, fennel, rue and mint, the quantity of oil being sufficient to cover up the compound and exclude the air. In fact, it was an olive salad, and, as the name imports, eaten with cheese (Cat. R. R. 117, 118, 119; Varr. R. R. i.60; Columell. xii.49; Geopon. ix.3, 32).