Throughout history, olive oil has been used for lighting, heating, enhancing beauty, and as a precious food offered to gods and men     Found near Zakros, these olives were apparently offered to Minoan gods of the underworld 3,500 years ago at the time of the earthquake that destroyed their civilization.   To find out more about the different grades of olive oil, and how to taste it properly, please click the buttons to the left.   Five thousand years of recorded history indicate that olive oil is one of the oldest and most valued commodities in the world.