Why Is the Olive Branch a Symbol of Peace?
From the dove of the flood narrative to the emblem of the United Nations: how a tree branch has carried the same meaning for thousands of years.
Most people who speak of "extending an olive branch" today do not stop to think how old the gesture is. The symbol was in fact formed by at least three separate traditions layered on top of one another.
Ancient Greece: sanctuary and victory
In the Greek world the olive was the gift of the goddess Athena. In the story, when Athena and Poseidon competed for guardianship of the city, Poseidon struck salt water from the rock while Athena brought forth an olive tree. The city chose what was useful, and took Athena's name.
The symbolic weight of the branch came from there. In the practice known as hiketeria, a stranger or a fugitive seeking sanctuary needed only to carry an olive branch wrapped in wool; to lay hands on the bearer was an offence against the gods. The branch marked not disarmament or surrender but inviolability.
The same tree stood for victory too: winners at Olympia were crowned with the kotinos, a wreath woven from wild olive. Victors at the Panathenaic games received no money but large amphorae filled with oil from the sacred trees.
Rome: surrender and negotiation
In Rome the olive branch was a recognised way of signalling a truce or a request to surrender on the battlefield. Envoys and negotiators carried one. It was a sign acknowledged by both sides, meaning that its bearer would not be killed. In Latin literature the olive branch stands directly for suing for peace.
The flood narrative
The greatest share of the symbol's modern reach belongs to the flood narrative in Genesis. When the dove released as the waters recede returns, it carries a fresh Olive Leaf and Olive Leaf Tea">olive leaf in its beak — the sign that land has emerged, that the punishment is over, and that peace with the earth has been restored.
The pairing of dove and olive branch appears in early Christian art from the catacomb paintings onward. Over the centuries the two merged into a single emblem: the dove of peace.
Modern use
That inheritance survives in official emblems. The branches flanking the world map on the seal of the United Nations are olive branches. Many national coats of arms, medals and coins carry the same motif.
The line used by Yasser Arafat at the UN General Assembly in 1974 — an olive branch in one hand and a freedom fighter's gun in the other — shows how alive the symbol remains in political language.
Why the olive?
Probably because the olive tree stands for patience. It takes years to bear fruit; replacing a grove felled in wartime takes close to a human lifetime. A society with olive groves is a society that has planned to stay at peace for a long time. The branch is that calculation made visible.
Related
Article
The Olive Oil Trade in the Ancient World
Amphorae, sea routes and a Roman hill made of broken jars: olive oil was one of the Mediterranean's first large-scale commodities.
Article
The History of Olive Oil Soap
From Aleppo to Marseille, Castile to Ayvalık: how olive oil became soap, and how that trade built cities.
Article
The History of the Olive in Anatolia
Where did the olive come from, and when was it first cultivated in Anatolia? From the stone workshop at Klazomenai to today's Aegean groves.