The fig has been a main food of the human diet for at least 3000 years. For the ancient Mediterranean civilizations it constituted a staple and an integral part of their diet, to the extent that it substituted bread.

It was a popular fruit and main ingredient of the Greek diet since ancient times. Greek athletes at Olympia ate figs to increase their running speed and overall strength. In Greek mythology, the fig figures prominently as a gift of Demeter to Dionysus. Figs were also associated with the Orphic worshippers of Bacchus, known as the Pythagoreans. The fig symbolized prosperity, fertility, knowledge, unity and immortality. In Ancient Athens the fig had a prominent position in both consumption and cultivation. The royal figs of Attica were so renowned that the Ancient Greeks had banned their export and illegal exportation was punished. A person informing the authorities of someone engaging in forbidden fig trading practices was called a sycophant, a “fig revealer.” In the Modern Greek language, the term sycophant has a negative connotation.

In Messinia, the systematic cultivation of the fig tree began after the social and economic crisis of the cultivation of currants and figs became one of the main sources of income for the region, especially in the 19th century. and the 20th century. In 1911, Messinia had the highest number of fig trees throughout the Peloponnese. High fig production numbers were first encountered in the area of Messini and then in Kalamata, Pylos and Trifylia. At a national level, organized efforts essentially start in 1929 when the government established by law the «Office for the Protection of Greek Figs». At that time, the aim of this organization was to research and oversee the application of scientific means for the purpose of expanding and increasing the production of dried figs. Later in 1934, a new law assigned broader responsibilies to this organization, and thus linking it closer to the production process of dried figs. During this time, the first six fumigation facilities were established by the state. 

Until the early postwar years, along with olive oil and currants, figs constituted one of the main export goods to countries such as Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia and others. The First World War would greatly impede agricultural trade in Messinia, which would recover only during the Inter-War period. During this period, figs were mainly exported to the markets of Italy, Germany and the USA. Just a little before the Second World War fig trade started to flourish with the establishment of two private companies and many local merchants who were involved in the trade of figs. Since the 1950s the demand of figs decreased resulting in the replacement of fig trees with olive trees. However, the current local production of figs is not minor given that the co-operative of fig producers “SYKIKI” has 3,700 members.  This co-operative was established in 1935 and resulted from the unification of smaller fig producer associations and co-operatives of Messinia and Laconia. In 1952 the Office for the Protection of Greek Figs ceased operations and all its assets were transferred to SYKIKI, which successfully continues to date as the sectoral agricultural co-operative of figs.