In ancient Athens, what tree was considered sacred, and death is the penalty for cutting it down?

The olive tree was and still is, the most treasured tree in Greece. Since time immemorial was the tree that gave abundantly its fruits for edible olives and for the production of olive oil that was the basis of their diet.

They used a process to extract the oil that was brought down to us, up until after the WWII, when full mechanization took over. I was lucky as a young boy to have experienced that process and let me assure you that the quality of the product was nothing similar to the one mechanically produced . The aroma and the texture are deeply imprinted on my olfactory buds and I have not smelled anything similar since.

I have side-tracked from the question with personal memories. But are worth to be told, instead of resiting passages form a link.

One very interesting story concerning olive trees, was with a tree that was standing in Iera Odos close to Botanikos and which is considered a remnant of those that existed alongside of the Sacred Road. That tree was enclosed in a metal structure and although it was somewhat in the way of the new road it was kept in place for scientists had declared it of being over 2000 years old.

Such was the reverence of that specific tree that it was left untouched all those years. It was a huge one with a thick trunk. Well, one day some 50 years ago, a bus running along that street for some malfunction fell on that tree, damaging both the enclosure and a large part of the tree, leaving only a small part of the original. The driver who was not totally responsible for the accident, nor for the malfunction of his bus, was considered as a national culprit and on his trial was sentenced twice as hard as if he had fallen on any other tree. This goes to show the importance that specific tree held for Greek.

It is the Olive Tree

http://www.istad.org/squid/olive.jpg

... and Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and peace, struck her magic spear into the Earth, and it turned into an olive tree, thus, the location where the olive tree appeared and grew was named Athens in honor of the Goddess, Athena.

Citizens still claim that all Greek olive trees originated from rooted cuttings that were grown from that original olive tree. Local legend tells that the original olive tree still stands growing after many centuries at the ancient sacred site.

Homer claimed in his writings that the ancient olive tree growing in Athens was already 10,000 years old. He states that Greek courts sentenced people to death if they destroyed an olive tree.

The fig tree. (Hence the word sycophant; if you hated someone all you had to do was report them for exporting figs...)

agree with the first answerer i guess ///@ plostad troll sh-t up! you better look your own pseudo pretenders mac-donians' mess! μιλανε ολοι μιλανε και οι κ-λοι! χαχα! ;))EDIT:the fool troll that thumped down our texts here he better put his vote down to his a-s!

IDK