Browsing Tag
EMMANUEL VELIVASAKIS
National Herald, January 25, 2008
From left to right: George Leventis,Nancy Biska and Manolis Velivasakis hold a check from the Langan Engineering Environmental Services for $25,250 which was donated to the Plant Your Roots in Greece Foundation at Kellaris Parea on January 16 in New York.
By Nancy Biska, ΚΡΗΤΗ Magazine
“Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food” — Hippocrates
Homer called olive oil the “liquid gold”. Nothing is more characteristic of Crete than the millions of olive trees that grow in valleys and mountainous areas. According to archaeological findings, Cretans have been cultivating the olive tree and have been using olive oil since 3500 B.C. during the early Minoan period.
In ancient Greece the olive tree has been the symbol of wisdom and peace. It was the sacred tree of goddess Athena and Athens, the capital of Greece. Also, at the Ancient Olympic Games, winners were presented with a simple olive tree branch which was cut with a gold-handled knife from a wild olive tree. The Greeks believed that the vitality of the sacred tree was transmitted to the recipient through the branch.
Prominent California developer and philanthropist Angelo Tsakopoulos, former Prime Minister of Greece Constantine Mitsotakis, Nancy Biska, Pan-Cretan Association of America President Emmanuel Velivasakis and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni during the Association’s event in honor of Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Tsakopoulos at Flushing’s Terrace On The Park last Friday, September 29.