London 2012: Olympic flame lit in Olympia

London 2012: Olympic flame lit in Olympia
2012 05 10

The countdown to the London 2012 Olympics has begun after the Olympic Flame was lit today in Greece.

Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed in robes, played the role of high priestess in front of the ruins of the Temple of Hera in ancient Olympia at the traditional lighting ceremony.

Lifting a blazing torch from a parabolic mirror, the flame was lit as if beamed by the sun’s rays from the Greek god of the sun, Apollo. According to tradition, this method guarantees the purity of the flame and is the only way the Olympic flame can be lit.

The symbolic ceremony at the birthplace of the Ancient Games was conducted as the Olympic Anthem was played and the Olympic Flag was hoisted. With the Olympics being held in London, God Save The Queen was also played as the Union Flag was raised. An extract of the poem The Light Of Olympia was also recited.

[...]

Read the full article at: independent.co.uk

Top Image: "The Olympic flame has been lit in Olympia in Greece during in a traditional ceremony. The torch relay will end at the Olympic Games opening ceremony in London on July 27. "
REUTERS/John Kolesidis/Euronews.com

Video from: YouTube.com

Share |

Latest News from our Front Page

Footage of Killer Machete ‘Terrorist’ Attack in Woolwich, East London
2013 05 24
Red Ice Creations: The following analysis of the killing in Woolwich, London is provided by many sources. Many different opinions are gathered, but on the whole it’s clear that the level of suspicion of the press, as well as government and security officials, is high. And with all that’s going on it’s not unfounded suspicion. There are still a multitude of ...

Soldier Beheaded in Broad Daylight Machete Attack
2013 05 23
Woolwich attack: terrorist proclaimed ’an eye for an eye’ after attack A British soldier has been butchered on a busy London street by two Islamist terrorists, one of whom proclaimed afterwards: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In the first terrorist murder on the British mainland since the 7/7 suicide bombings of 2005, the men attempted ...

Ciudad Blanca Found? The lost city in Honduras
2013 05 23
Explorers have been searching on foot for Honduras’s mythical city for generations. Now, they seem to have found it from a tiny Cessna airplane, aided by million-dollar technology. Is the fabled lost city of Honduras hiding beneath the dense jungle canopy? The Mosquitia rain forests of Honduras and Nicaragua are, to put it mildly, thick jungle. As one travel guide notes, "While ...

Cheetah-bot races into your post-apocalyptic nightmares
2013 05 23
An ongoing robotics project at MIT aiming to recreate the gait of a cheetah is sharing a new video showing off the latest progress. There’s a long way to go before anyone would call it catlike, but it’s impressive nevertheless. MIT Cheetah The Biomimetic Robotics Lab at MIT is attempting to create things much like those being made by the more well-known ...

When an Army of Artists Fooled Hitler
2013 05 23
Shortly after the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, two Frenchmen on bicycles managed to cross the perimeter of the United States Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and what they saw astounded them. Four American soldiers had picked up a 40-ton Sherman tank and were turning it in place. Soldier Arthur Shilstone says, “They looked at me, and they were ...

More News »