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The olive branch is usually a symbol of peace or victory and was historically worn by brides and virgins. This symbol, deriving from the customs of Ancient Greece, is strongest in Western culture. However, it has been found in every culture and religion to thrive in the Mediterranean basin. ==Ancient Greece and Rome== In Greek mythology, Athena competed with Poseidon for possession of Athens. Poseidon claimed possession by thrusting his trident into the Acropolis, where a well of sea-water gushed out. Athena took possession by planting the first olive tree beside the well. The court of gods and goddesses ruled that Athena had the better right to the land because she had given it the better gift.〔Robert Graves, ''The Greek Myths'', Penguin, 1960, Sect.16.c〕 Olive wreaths were worn by brides〔"Olive branch". ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', online ed., 2004. () (subscription required)〕 and awarded to olympic victors.〔(The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games )〕 The olive branch was one of the attributes of Eirene〔(''Theoi Greek Mythology'' )〕〔(Kathleen N. Daly and Marian Rengel, ''Greek and Roman Mythology A to Z'', New York: Chelsea House, 2009 )〕 on Roman Imperial coins.〔(Coins of Roman Egypt )〕 For example, the reverse of a tetradrachm of Vespasian from Alexandria, 70-71 CE, shows Eirene standing holding a branch upward in her right hand.〔(Keith Emmett Collection of Roman Egypt )〕 The Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC) associated "the plump olive"〔Virgil, ''Georgics'', 2, pp. 425 ff (trans. Fairclough)〕 with the goddess Pax (the Roman Eirene〔) and he used the olive branch as a symbol of peace in his ''Aeneid'':〔(Great Seal )〕 :"High on the stern Aeneas his stand, :And held a branch of olive in his hand, :While thus he spoke: "The Phrygians' arms you see, :Expelled from Troy, provoked in Italy :By Latian foes, with war unjustly made; :At first affianced, and at last betrayed. :This message bear: The Trojans and their chief :Bring holy peace, and beg the king's relief." For the Romans, there was an intimate relationship between war and peace, and Mars, the god of war, had another aspect, Mars Pacifer, Mars the bringer of Peace, who is shown on coins of the later Roman Empire bearing an olive branch.〔Ragnar Hedlund, "Coinage and authority in the Roman empire, c. AD 260–295", ''Studia Numismatica Upsaliensia'', 5, University of Uppsala, 2008〕〔 Appian describes the use of the olive-branch as a gesture of peace by the enemies of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus in the Numantine War〔(Appian's History of Rome: The Spanish Wars (§§91-95) )〕 and by Hasdrubal the Boeotarch of Carthage.〔Nathaniel Hooke, (''The Roman history: From the Building of Rome to the Ruin of the Commonwealth,'' London: J. Rivington, 1823 )〕 Although peace was associated with the olive branch during the time of the Greeks, the symbolism became even stronger under the Pax Romana when envoys used the olive branch as tokens of peace.〔 Tresidder, Jack, ed. The Complete Dictionary of Symbols. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2004.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「olive branch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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