Olympic flame: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the [[Ancient Olympic Games|ancient Olympics]] on the altar of the sanctuary of [[Hestia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_655.pdf|title=Report|publisher=Official website of the Olympic Movement|access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref><ref>(secondary) [[Jean-Pierre Vernant]] - [http://ssi.sagepub.com/content/8/4/131.extract Hestia - Hermes : The religious expression of space and movement among the Greeks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114090421/http://ssi.sagepub.com/content/8/4/131.extract |date=14 January 2015 }} Retrieved 19 May 2012</ref> In [[Ancient Greek mythology]], fire had divine connotations and it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by [[Prometheus]]. Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]. Every four years, when [[Zeus]] was honoured at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, [[Hera]]. The modern Olympic flame is ignited every two years in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera.

When the idea of a symbolic fire was introduced during the [[1928 Summer Olympics]], an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first symbolic flame in the Marathon Tower of the [[Olympisch Stadion (Amsterdam)|Olympic Stadium]] in Amsterdam.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amsterdam 1928|url=http://www.olympic.org/amsterdam-1928-summer-olympics|publisher=Olympic.org|access-date=9 July 2012}}</ref> The Olympic flame and the Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the [[Summer Olympics]] at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]] by [[Carl Diem]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lennartz |first1=Karl |last2=Buschmann |first2=Jürgen |title=Carl Diem – Still Controversial 50 Years On |url=http://isoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/231.pdf |publisher=International Society of Olympic Historians |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>. The first ever torch-lighting ceremony was held in [[Olympia, Greece]] on July 20th, 1936.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/berlin-1936/torch-relay |website=Olympics.com |publisher=IOC |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The torches used were made by [[Krupp]], and the mirror used to light the flame was made by [[Zeiss Optics]], both companies with links to the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi government]] of the time.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Klein |first1=Christopher |title=The Olympic Torch Relay’s Surprising Nazi Origins |url=https://www.history.com/news/the-olympic-torch-relays-surprising-origins |website=History.com |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

==Main ceremonies==