Olive Tree Story

In our village of Baillargues, France (about 5000 inhabitants), there is one mural. I drive past it at least twice daily, as it is prominently placed on the route between the kids' two schools.

The olive tree is real, as is the large tilted urn. But the sand, sea, scroll, steps and column are painted on the wall.

The scroll tells the story of the naming of Athens after Athena as opposed to Poseidon, due to Athena's gift being the more useful one: the first olive tree.

They are really big on olives around here: every pizza carries them (luckily whole ones, easy to remove for non-fans), and people participating in scavenger hunts are expected to be able to name a few different local varieties, such as the "picholine" and the "lucques."