Tradition of the Torchbearers at the Olympics: Fire, Connecting Eras When the sacred flame ignites on the main stadium of the Olympic Games, the audience stands still. This flame is not just light. It is a thread stretched through millennia, from ancient altars of Greece to hyper-modern stadiums. It is a symbol of purity, struggle, peace, and the human spirit. But behind this moment stands a long and amazing history, in which myths, politics, technology, and sincere belief in the power of sport to unite the world are intertwined. Ancient Root: Fire as a Divine Gift In Ancient Greece, fire was not just an element. It was sacred. The Greeks believed that Prometheus, the Titan, gave the flame to humans, having stolen it from Zeus. This myth became the basis for many rituals. In Olympia, at the altars of temples, the sacred flame burned constantly. Before the ancient Olympic Games, it was lit in the temple of the goddess Hera. The priestesses used a special concave mirror to focus sunlight and ignite the flame, which was then brought to Athens. This was a sign of the beginning of a truce, the ekecheiria, which was declared during the competitions. There were no torchbearers in the modern sense at that time. The flame simply burned, symbolizing the presence of the gods and the continuity of tradition. But the idea that the flame carries sacred power and connects people with higher powers has remained for centuries. And when in the late 19th century Baron Pierre de Coubertin thought of reviving the Olympic Games, he dreamed of bringing back this ancient symbol. Revival of the Flame: Amsterdam-1928 For the first time in the history of the modern Olympic Games, the sacred flame ignited over the stadium in 1928 in Amsterdam. There was no relay at that time. The flame was simply lit in a bowl located on the main arena. The idea belonged to the Dutch architect Jan Wils, who designed this bowl. But like in ancient times, the flame was obtained from the sun. This was a s ... Read more