We landed in Athens in the evening and, after a night of rest, we went to the Acropolis to admire what is probably the tree of the Gods par excellence: the olive tree. In Greek mythology, in fact, the goddess Athena created an olive tree laden with fruit near the Parthenon which was chosen by the people as a symbol of the city. In fact, it is said that Zeus asked Athena and Poseidon to prove their worth to conquer the city: Poseidon hurled his fiery trident on a rock creating a spring of salt, while Athena created the famous tree. The olive tree has always been very important to the Greeks. In the past, the leaves were used to crown Olympic athletes and generals, while houses and churches were built with olive wood. The athletes were massaged with the oil and the lamps were fed. Finally, oil and olives have always been fundamental ingredients in Greek cuisine, used with abundant generosity. We discovered that in the city there is a place that has created a very special bitter with olives with which to make revisited cocktails. One above all, the “Greek” Negroni cocktail. Leonidas Papadokostakis, barman of the local “The Naxos Apothecary” let us taste it. By David Zonta
