Olympic torch and flame

Olympic torch and flame: Torch, it is simply a common name but when added before Olympic it symbolize a significant meaning to us. Although Olympic have passed long thousand years, it yet has been holding its age-old tradition so carefully. Olympic flame is one of them, which consider as a symbol of Olympic Games. It has added a significant view about Olympic Games to spread the massage of peace with the slogan of "the light of sprit, knowledge and life." It also considers as a declaration of the arrival of Olympic Games.
Several months before, the whole formality of Olympic flame starts by igniting a torch of Olympic opening ceremony in the ruins of ancient Olympia, where the temple of Goddess of birth and marriage ‘Hera’ stands (wife of Zeus). As it was part of religious festival of ancient Greece, so it is important to lit the Olympic torch using pure flame. Like ancient technique to gather the pure flame, they use sunrays to ignite the torch by using a parabolic mirror. Eleven women wearing white color ancient designed robes like Vestal Virgins accomplish the whole formality. One of them wearing ceremonial priestess’s dress ignites the torch.
According to ancient rite, to maintain the purity only the flame alighted by using sunrays use to ignite the torch. Now you might have questioned in your mind how they create the flame by the sunrays. At first, they set a parabolic mirror with curved shape towards the sun. When the light ray focuses on the parabolic mirror, it creates a great deal of heat then the priestess sets the torch under the mirror and lit the torch with concentrated sunrays. However, if the sun has set up his mind not to rise out on the torch lightening ceremony, they do not wait for the other day. In such a condition, the priestess can light the torch with a flame that was ignited on a sunny day before the ceremony.
After igniting the torch with solemn formality, it is carried to the ancient Olympic stadium to light the pot on the altar of the stadium. Then the first runner ignites the torch and begins the torch relay. Then it starts to visit one country to another with the message of peace until it reach to the final destination. On the way to its destination when the torch reaches to a country, the sports celebrity of the country carry the flame by foot usually. On the day of Olympic opening ceremony, the most desired Olympic torch reaches to the host country and one of the selected spots celebrities of the host country runs towards the cauldron stands in the stadium and lights it with the torch.

About the torch: The Olympic torch generally focuses on the image of a host country. Moreover, it represents a nation’s history, culture and tradition, so the design, shape even the elements of the torch vary to the country to country. However, the common things use to make Olympic torch are fiberglass and magnesium wick. Its weights usually 1.5 Kg (3.3 pounds). The famous designers of the world usually design the Olympic torch and it normally takes one even two years to design an Olympic torch fully.
From the early period many elements such as olive oil, gunpowder, mixer of hexamine and naphthalene, ammonia and formaldehyde, hydrogen and carbon based substance had been used as the fuel of Olympic torch but these were not so effective to face different weather and condition, even sometimes this symbol of peace become so dangerous for the torch bearer. On 1972 Olympic, liquid gas was used as the fuel of Olympic torch and from then it has been using until now.

Olympic torch in ancient period: The conception of Olympic flame came from ancient Olympic history. Ancient Greek people believed that one of the Greek gods ‘Prometheus” first stole the fire from heaven and taught human to use it. Because of it, he had to go through so many hard and sever punishment. To commemorate his sacrifice for human, torch relaying at night was a part of religious ritual to ancient Greek people. Soon this ritual became a part of ancient Olympic Games and sacred flames were always lit on the altar of Greek Goddess Hestia. On the period of king Elis, the ancient Greece was divided into pieces and was often at war. Therefore, he would send massagers with sacred torch to before the month of Olympic Games beginning. The messengers went all over the Greek world to spread the message of peace so that people can travel to Olympia in safety and participate in Olympic Games.
On 776 BC during the first ancient Olympic Games, the Greeks lighted a flame on the altar of Hera to mark the beginning of games. The device, they used to lit the flame that time was called Skaphia.

Revival of Olympic torch: As a part of religious ritual Olympic flame was continued since ancient Olympic Games, but to be introduced in modern era it had to wait a long time. After 22 years since the first Olympic happened, the Olympic flame was first inaugurated in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic. The Olympic flame was then lighted on the Marathon Tower of the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. After 8 years of reviving Olympic flame, in 1936 Olympic torch was introduced in Berlin Olympic (XI Olympiad or Nazi Olympics).
At first, the whole formality of lightening torch was occurred at the site of Goddess Hera in Greece with solemn celebration and then the lighted torch was brought to the Berlin stadium passing through seven countries- Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany. After the long journey when the torch of peace reached Berlin Stadium, then the last runner carried the torch and lit the flame and all the presented people in stadium became witness of a glorious history. The flame was alighted until the conclusion of Olympic that year.

The Nazi Minister of propaganda Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels first invented the conception of Olympic flame via relay system, then Carl Diem, the Secretary General of the Organizing committee of the Berlin Olympics represented the reviving the torch relay and his proposal was supported unanimously. It is complained that, Nazi leadership to acknowledge the world about Germany as a modern, economically dynamic state accomplished the whole plan of torch relay.
Two companies Krupp and Zeiss sponsored for designing and manufacturing the first Olympic torch. These two companies were considered as obedient supporter of Nazi movement and were supposed to involve in Second World War for supplying ammunitions, armaments and optical equipment to Nazi during that time.
However, on May 10 the first torch bearing started its journey from Greece to Germany. The first Olympic torch bearer was young Greek athlete Konstantinos Kondylis. After a long journey, it arrived on 20 July in Berlin stadium where the opening ceremony held.

Prometheus myth: In Greek mythology it was written that, Prometheus (Forethinker) is a titan who was benefactor of humankind. He was befriending to mortals and had sympathy forthem. He was a well-wisher of human and always wanted to see them succeeded. However, the great God Zeus was not willing be hand over fire to mortals. He believed only titans are supposed to use fire, so he hided it in the safe place of heaven. To help the mortals Prometheus silently went to heaven where Zeus hided fire. Then he stole the fire from very safe place of heaven hidden inside a Fennel (a kind of plant) stalk and taught mortals the usefulness of fire. Soon Zeus knew about the rebellious act of Prometheus and became so furious. He decided to give him sever punishment and ordered to bound Prometheus with a rock of Mount Kaukasos. A giant eagle was then sent to eat out his liver (some people think it was his heart), which regenerated within a night. At last after a long time the great hero Hercules then released him from this sever torture, but he was too old then.
To show respect to his sacrifice lightening-torch became a religious festival to the ancient Greek people and thus someday it became an important part of Olympic. Now we cannot consider any Olympic as a perfect Olympic without it.