Lit in Greece, the Olympic Flame arrives in the UK on 18 May 2012 before setting out the next day on a 70-day Olympic Torch Relay, bringing the excitement of the Games to everyone. The Olympic Flame stands for peace, unity and friendship. The Ancient Greeks considered fire to be a
divine element, and they maintained perpetual
fires in front of their principal temples. This was
the case in the s
anctuary of Olympia, where the
Ancient Olympic Games took place. The flame
was lit using the rays of the sun, to ensure its
purity, and a skaphia, the ancestor of the
parabolic mirror used today for lighting the
Olympic flame. A flame burned permanently on
the altar of the goddess Hestia, and such fires
were also lit on the altars of Zeus and Hera, in
front of whose temple the Olympic flame is lit
today. In the context of the modern Games, the
Olympic flame represents the positive values
that Man has always associated with fire. The
purity of the flame is guaranteed by the way it is
lit using the sun‟s rays. The choice of Olympia
as a departure point emphasises the link
between the Ancient and Modern Games and
underlines the profound connection between
these two events. Find more about the Olympic Torch Relay history athttp://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reference_documents_Factsheets/The_Olympic_Torch_relay.pdf
