Ancient Olympics

 For the ancient Greeks, fire had divine connotations — it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. Therefore, fire was also present at many of the sanctuaries in Olympia, Greece. A fire permanently burned on the altar of Hestia in Olympia, Greece. During the Olympic Games, which honored Zeus, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited at the site where the temple of Hera used to stand.

 The Olympic Flame from the ancient games was reintroduced during the 1928 Olympic Games. An employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first Olympic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.

 The modern convention of moving the Olympic Flame via a relay system from Olympia to the Olympic venue began with the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. 

The Torch Relay is an Olympic symbol of peace, brotherhood and enlightenment and represents a summons to the Olympic Games. The modern-day Torch Relay is derived from ceremonies once a part of the ancient Games of Olympia, Greece. Torch and relay races were important elements of the cultural festivals surrounding the Games, and heralds traveled throughout Greece to announce the Games of Olympia, declaring a sacred truce for the duration of the Games. These events carried a deep ritual significance – a significance that is still respected in the modern-day Olympic Torch Relay.  Carl Diem, an Olympic historian and philosopher, initiated the first modern-day Olympic Torch Relay for the Berlin 1936 Olympic Summer Games. Since that time, the Torch Relay has been a significant part of the Games, with each relay reflecting the culture of its host country. 

Facts – Olympic Torch Relay  v      In 1936, the first modern day Olympic Torch Relay took place when the torch travelled from Olympia, Greece to Berlin, Germany.v      At the London 1948 Olympic Summer Games – the first Olympic Games after World War II – the lead torchbearer was a corporal in the Greek army who changed out of his military uniform and laid down his arms to signify the sacred truce before carrying the Olympic Flame.

v      The first Olympic Winter Games Torch Relay occurred in 1952 in Oslo, Norway.

v      At the Montreal 1976 Olympic Summer Games, the Flame was transformed to an electronic pulse. The pulse was then carried by satellite from Athens to Montreal, where a laser beam was used to light the cauldron. 

v      A highlight of the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Summer Games was a special appearance by Muhammad Ali, a former Olympian recognized for his boxing success and battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was selected as the final torchbearer to enter the stadium and light the cauldron in what was a most inspiring moment of the Opening Ceremony.

v      The first global relay took place before the Athens 2004 Olympic Summer Games. The journey lasted 78 days, covered a distance of 78,000 kilometers and involved 11,300 torchbearers.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 7:59 am and is filed under Education, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.