The ancient Greeks were not the first people to do the torch relay. The torch relays origin dates back to the 1930's and was started by Germany (Nazi Germany, at the time)
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. The torch relay of modern times which transports the flame from Greece to the various designated sites of the games had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Olympic Torch today is ignited several months before the opening celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Eleven women, representing the roles of priestesses, perform a ceremony in which the torch is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror.
The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. The flame itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.
The Olympic torch relay was invented in 1936.
Ancient OlympicsFor the ancient Greeks, fire had divine connotations - it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. Therefore, fire was also present at many of the sanctuaries in Olympia, Greece. A fire permanently burned on the altar of Hestia in Olympia, Greece. During the Olympic Games, which honored Zeus, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited at the site where the temple of Hera used to stand. The Modern EraThe modern convention of moving the Olympic flame (via a relay system from Olympia to the Olympic venue) began with the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Although most of the time the torch with the Olympic Flame is still carried by runners, it has been transported in many different ways. The fire travelled by boat in 1948 to cross the English Channel, and it was first transported by aeroplane in 1952, when the fire travelled to Helsinki. In 1956, the equestrian events were held separately because of strict quarantine regulations in Australia. All carriers in the torch relay to Stockholm, where these events were held instead, travelled on horseback. where does the Olympic torch begin its journey?
Well I know for a fact that they invented the competitions of the Ancient Olympics, and I have also heard they have invented boxing?
The Olympic torch relay was a ritual that was introduced at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. It was intended to symbolize the "passing of the torch" of western civilization from the ancient Greeks to the Third Reich. Since then, the torch relay ritual has been "re-purposed" to symbolize the passing of the Olympic spirit or ideals from Greece to the hosting country.
It is tradition and it pays homage to ancient Greece where the games started.
The Olympic relay race goes all the way back to the beginning of the Olympic games in Ancient Greece. This type of race where a baton was carried and passed off to another was a way for competition between regions to be run.
The olympic torch represents the theft of fire from Zeus by Prometheus the giant. It also might represent a relay run in the late Ancient Olympics in which a team of runners passed a torch between them and the last runner lit a huge torch. It is a tradition to light the flame at the beginning of all Modern Olympics.
The Olympic Flame is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. In contrast to the Olympic flame proper, the torch relay of modern times which transports the flame from Greece to the various designated sites of the games had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the controversial 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
1936 Berlin Olympics
According to the New York times article the Olympic torch relay did not become a permanent part of the Olympics till the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
They have a torch relay to show they care about the world.
discus and the javelin discus and the javelin
The Olympic torch relay always terminates in the central stadium of that year's Olympic Games.
usually people that enter the torch relay are mostly people from the country that hosts the olympic games that year.
the olympic torch relay takes place in the United kingdom