Olive Branch Forest

From the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, a white dove carrying an olive branch is a sign of peace. After the Great Flood, in order to find land, Noah released a dove three times. One the first trip, the dove returned with nothing, indicating that the waters had not yet receded. On the second trip, the dove came back carrying an olive leaf in its beak (Genesis 8:11), which informed Noah that God had taken mercy on humanity and caused the flood to recede and physically showed there was some earth now above water level:
And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
The third trip is when the dove does not return to Noah, showing the waters have abated completely and the dove has found a home of its own to reside. God then caused a rainbow to appear in the sky as a symbol of his covenant with mankind never to destroy the earth by water again.
This story has led to the dove and the olive branch (combined with the classical tradition) to become symbols of peace. The rainbow may also represent peace, whereby God directs His "bow" toward Himself, an ancient symbol of a cessation of hostilities.
The motif can also represent "hope for peace" or a peace offering from one man to another, as in the phrase "extend an olive branch".

In Greek mythology, Zeus bestowed the newly created city of Athens to the god providing the most useful gift to humanity. Poseidon offered a war chariot with a fully equipped war horse. Athena offered the olive tree. Olive wreaths were worn by brides and awarded to olympic victors.



Use Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_branch