The olive groves of the Monastery of Metamorphosis, which produce our olive oil and honey, are situated in the area of Molai, in Laconia Greece. The Monastery itself has a very long history, dating back many centuries. It is mentioned for the first time in 1301, in a so-called “chrysobull” or “golden bull”, i.e. an imperial decree, by the Byzantine emperor Andronicus Palaiologos II. It also appears in documents dating from 1699, at which time the Peloponnese was under the Republic of Venice, following the Morean wars; the Monastery of Metamorphosis is listed there as belonging to the ecclesiastical fortune of the Monemvasia (the Venetian “Malvasia”) metropolis. In the 1699 census, the Monastery of Metamorphosis is described as having been renovated 2 years previously, therefore in 1697, a fact which implies its establishment and presence for a long time prior to that date. According to this same census, there were present at this time in the monastery 1 abbot, 2 priest-monks, 4 monks, 3 workers paid for by the monastery, and 5 children. Remarkably, it’s clearly stated that these 5 children were learning the Greek language in the monastery, indicating its active role as a so-called “hidden school” for teaching the Greek language and Christian doctrine under Ottoman rule. In the surrounding lands belonging to the monastery, as described in the census, there were “horses, sheep, goats, honeycombs, olive trees and many other planted trees.”