In his book “Diet and Therapeutics”, Hippocrates wrote about olive oil:
” With warm olive oil to anoint the women who miscarried”, and especially in cases of advanced pregnancy and in cases of metrorrhagia was given a mixture of cooked wild olive leaves in vinegar.
Plutarch in “Ethics” refers to in the treatment of mastitis with “ydrelaio.” a mixture of water and olive oil.
At the sanctuary of Asclepius used the olive oil to manufacture special ointments and remedies. Drinks, finally, from olive leaves and flowers were used as cold drops for irritated eyes and for a stomach ulcer.
In a recent study estimated that the olive oil needed annually to the rich homes of ancient Athens was 200-300 kg a significant quantity if one takes into account the efficiency of the olive trees and the technological possibilities of extracting the olive oil.
The goddesses of Olympus used a kind of “paste” from olive oil, which is believed to have miraculous properties for the body.
In the Iliad, Ira anointed her body with an aromatic olive oil. And while women used perfumed oils, the men were confined to “pure” olive oil for cleaning and sanitation.
As regards the hygiene of the body, the ancient Greeks and Romans are perhaps the first to use olive oil to coat the muscles to keep them flexible.
In the Iliad, Odysseus along with Diomedes washed first with hot water and immediately they anointed their bodies with olive oil.
In the Odyssey we read about the bath of Telemachus in Sparta, where, after having washed, anointed his body with olive oil.
