IX 



THE OLIVE 



' Strew thrice nine olive boughs 

 On either hand; and offer up thy prayer,' ^ 



counselled the Greeks when conscious that the 

 deities were offended. 



The olive was the gift of Pallas. The tale 

 ran that in the reign of Cecrops both Poseidon 

 and Athena contended for the possession of 

 Athens. The gods resolved that whichever of 

 them produced the gift most useful to mortals 

 should have possession of the land. Poseidon 

 struck the ground with his trident and straight- 

 way a horse appeared. But Athena planted the 

 olive and the gods thereupon decreed that the 

 olive was more useful to man than the horse, 

 and gave the city to the goddess, from whom it 

 was called Athenae.^ 



But the symbohsm of the olive, founded 



' Sophocles, CEdipus Coloneus. 

 '^ Smith's Classical Dictionary. 



112 



