The laurel and the olive tree, evergreen, and Mediterranean trees par excellence must necessarily be linked to mythology and symbolism. The god Apollo insistently sought the goddess Daphne, and in her flight, by the river Peneu she asked for help from mother earth and her father the god of the river who immediately transformed her into a laurel (called daphne by the Greeks), Apollo kept the laurel in his hands declaring that this tree would be dedicated to his cult, forests of laurels surrounded the sanctuaries dedicated to Apollo; At Delphi the priestess Pythia chewed laurel leaves before pronouncing her oracle; in time the laurel was attributed powers of healing, purification and longevity; the goddess Nike placed laurel wreaths on the heads of the winners of the Olympian games. Like the laurel, the olive tree was also offered to the victors, often the wreaths were a combination of both. Originally in a dispute over Attica between Poseidon and Athena (called Minerva by the Romans), Athena caused an olive tree with fruit to sprout from the ground and taught the Greeks how to make oil; they gratefully consecrated Attica to Athena, naming their capital Athens. The olive tree became a sacred tree, and the oil was used in religious ceremonies, feeding the lanterns and crucibles of the temples, the flame of the Olympic games, and the torch carried in the hand of the goddess Athena, oil became an emblem of purification and life force, and the olive tree a symbol of peace and reconciliation. These myths reached Imperial Rome, where crowns were offered to victorious generals on their return from conquests, traditions that have survived to the present day. In Granada in 1889 the poet Zorrilla was crowned with a golden laurel wreath. In Renaissance paintings, whenever they wanted to represent a personage who enjoyed fame, he or she was depicted more or less disguisedly next to a laurel. In Christianity, the laurel was used to welcome Jesus in Galilee, and also as a symbol of victory and immortality and as an attribute for martyrs. The church uses the olive tree as a symbol of peace and fruitfulness and since Noah's ark as a symbol of reconciliation with God. Oil is used for anointing; the word Messiah in Hebrew means the anointed one. A mixture of oil and aromatic herbs used for baptisms, confirmations and ordination of priests is called chrism. In secular myths and beliefs, the laurel is the protective and purifying plant par excellence, it protects those who live nearby. As protection, a few blessed leaves are carried in the pocket on Palm Sunday, and a few leaves burned in the house undo spells and remove unwanted vibrations.