Centuries-old olives of Ermionida

In the region Hermione Many centuries-old olives have been identified that indicate the existence of a historic olive grove in the area. The exact determination of their age is not possible, since the method of radioactive isotopes is applied to the heartwood, which no longer exists due to the advanced age of the tree.

However, based on the size of the olive tree and especially the perimeter of its base (in many it exceeds 10 meters) we can assume that the age of the trees exceeds the millennium. So these olives, with a thousand years of life behind them, met the Byzantines, the Venetians, the Franks, the Ottomans and of course "lived" the Greek Revolution of '21.

In fact, if we compare the size of the perimeter of the trees with olive of Crete in Ano Vouves, in Kolimbadi of Chania - which is the same and sometimes even bigger - and if the perimeter is the only criterion of age, then the olives of Ermioni can come from antiquity and have the same age.

For the record to say that the Monumental Olive Tree It is considered the oldest tree in the world and is 3.000-5.000 years old, it is still fruitful, it has been declared a Monument of Nature and at the base of the tree it has a maximum diameter of 4,53 m and a perimeter of 12,55 m.

What also matters is that centuries-old olives of Argolida, are scattered in different areas and are in groups, as if they want to share their memories and what their eyes have seen.

The old olives they were usually destroyed by the fires of the conquerors in the wars, but also by the inhabitants of the area in peacetime, when their fruits were no longer so rich and the value of their wood was greater, since with the fire burning in the fireplace of a wood century-old olive tree you could face even the worst winters!

The olives of Ermionida, according to his study Vassilios Gatsos in his book "The Reconstruction of Ermionida" Archipelagos publications, are found in Alatovouni, Thermisi, Dardiza, Omini, Krothi, Ververonta, the olives of the monastery of Agioi Anargyroi, Petrothalassa, Kampos Kranidou and Koilados generally in 15 scattered positions.

Thanks to the hospitable mood of the agronomist-olive grower Evangelou Dimarakis we visited some centuries-old olives in Saints Anargyros of Ermionida, as we located the oldest olive tree in the middle of the beautifully cared for estate with its 4000 fruit trees Prokopiou Prokopi.

Trying to estimate the age of the trees of the olive grove of Ermionida, it is estimated that trunks up to 1.0 m in diameter should have been planted after the Independence of Greece, from 1.1 m to 1.2 m during the second Venetian occupation and 1.2 m to 1.4 m from the middle of the 16th century. Trunks with a diameter of 1.4 m. To 1.8 m. Are counted as olive trees planted in early Byzantium, while those trunks over 2.2 m. Must come from Roman times. The main feature of the old olives is that with the years -after 300 years- the olives acquire hollows, and in the process the tree separates and grows on the same root, independent trunks. Remarkable is regardless of shape, size and age live olives remain productive!

It is time for some of them to be declared monuments and to find a way to make them visitable. They are historical monuments and with the right narration, they can be an important pole of attraction for the tourists of the place, who along with them will get to know the contribution of the olive tree in the life of Argolida!