The Deipnosophists (2.47)

With respect to Olives. Eupolis says—

Cuttle-fish, and olives fallen from the tree.

And these the Romans call dryptæ. But Diphilus the Siphnian writer says that olives contain very little nourishment, and are apt to give headaches; and that the black ones are still worse for the stomach, and make the head feel heavy; but that those which we call κολυμβάδες, that is to say, preserved in pickle, are better for the stomach, and give strength to the bowels. But that the black when crushed are better for the stomach. Aristophanes too makes mention of crushed olives in

The Islands,

saying—

Bring some crushed olives;

and in another place he says—

Crush'd olives and pickled olives are not the same thing;

and a few lines after—

For it is better that they should be crush'd than pickled.

And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy—

Let wrinkled olives, fallen from the tree,

Be placed before you.

And Hermippus says—

Be sure that for the future you remember

The ever-glorious Marathon for good,

When you do all from time to time add μάραθον (that is to say, fennel) to your pickled olives.

And Philemon says—

The inferior olives are called πιτυρίδες, and the dark-coloured are called στεμφυλίδες.

And Callimachus, in his

Hecale,

gives a regular catalogue of the different kinds of olive—

γεργέριμος and πίτυρις, and the white olive, which does not

Become ripe till autumn, which is to float in wine.

And according to Didymus, they called both olives and figs which had fallen to the ground of their own accord, γεργέριμοι. Besides, without mentioning the name

olive,

the fruit itself was called by that name δρυπετὴς, without any explanatory addition. Teleclides says—

He urged me to remain, and eat with him

Some δρυπετεῖς, and some maize, and have a chat with him.

But the Athenians called bruised olives στέμφυλα; and what we call στέμφυλα they called βρύτεα, that is to say, the dregs of the grapes after they have been pressed. And the word βρῦτος is derived from βότρυς, a bunch of grapes.