Moria (tree)
type of public olive tree in ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, the moriai (plural of moria) were olive trees considered to be the property of the state because of their religious significance.
Overview
From Attic Orators, vol. I. p. 289: Throughout Attica, besides the olives which were private property (ἴδιαι ἐλαῖαι, Lys. or. 7 § 10) there were others which, whether on public or on private lands, were considered as the property of the State. They were called "moriae" (μορίαι), the legend being that they had been propagated (μεμορημέναι) from the original olive which Athena herself had caused to spring up on the Acropolis. This theory was convenient for their conservation as State property, since, by giving them a sacred character, it placed them directly under the care of the Areiopagus, which caused them to be visited once a month by Inspectors (ἐπιμεληταί, Lys. or. 7 § 29), and once a year by special Commissioners (γνώμονες, ib.
“Moria (tree)” enters the record as type of public olive tree in ancient Greece. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Moria, tree and type can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Moria (tree)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Moria, tree and type provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6912127. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Moria (tree)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Moria (tree) primary sources, Moria (tree) archive and Moria research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Moria (tree)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Moria (tree)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.