Ancient Greeks turned to unripe olive oil as medicine, prizing it for its healing and cleansing powers even though it cost more and produced less than oil from ripe fruit, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology.
The study was led by Elron Zabatani of the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Researchers reviewed ancient texts in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, along with archaeological remains and modern laboratory research. The goal was to understand why this oil, known as “omphacinon” in Greek, held a respected place in Mediterranean medicine for more than a thousand years.
The Greek physician Dioscorides, writing in the first century, called omphacinon the best oil for medicinal use. He recommended it as a base for ointments.
Rubbed on the skin, he said, it helped reduce sweating, and taken internally it could ease abdominal pain and intestinal trouble. The Roman writer Pliny agreed, noting that rinsing the mouth with the oil benefited teeth and gums.
How the unripe olive oil was made and used
Because of its high price, the oil was used mainly by wealthy households. Jewish texts from the same era, including the Babylonian Talmud, describe it as useful for removing hair and refining the skin. Its use in Temple rituals in Jerusalem was debated, since some considered it an unfinished product.
Making the oil required picking olives early, before they fully ripened, roughly three months ahead of the usual harvest. This method produced far less oil, about 10 to 15 percent of the fruit’s weight, compared with 20 to 30 percent from ripe olives.
Wall paintings found at Pompeii and Herculaneum show small presses believed to have been built for this purpose. Similar presses turned up inside ancient perfume shops on the Greek island of Delos and at Paestum in Italy.
Modern science confirms why ancient Greeks trusted olive oil as medicine
Modern laboratory testing backs up much of what the old writers described. Oil pressed from unripe olives contains higher levels of polyphenols, tocopherols, and squalene than oil from ripe fruit. It also has fewer volatile compounds and stronger resistance to spoiling.
Those traits match germ-fighting effects useful for oral hygiene and skin-softening benefits linked to squalene, the study found.
Zabatani said the findings suggest that ancient Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples had good reason to trust olive oil as medicine. They likely sensed real benefits through everyday use, long before anyone understood the chemistry behind them.
He added that these traditional uses still need clinical testing before doctors could recommend them today.
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