Olympic flame lit in Greece

[Renew Deal]

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece -- The flame that will burn during the London Games was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics on Thursday, heralding the start of a torch relay that will culminate with the opening ceremony on July 27.

Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a high priestess, stood before the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera, and after an invocation to Apollo, the ancient Greeks' Sun God, used a mirror to focus the sun's rays and light a torch.

The triangular torch is designed to highlight the fact that London is hosting the Olympics for the third time. It also staged the Games in 1908 and 1948.
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After the choreographed ceremony, the priestess handed the flame to the first torchbearer, Greek swimmer and Olympic silver medalist Spyros Gianniotis.

The 32-year-old Gianniotis, the Liverpool-born son of a Greek father and a British mother, was the first of 490 torchbearers who will carry the flame across 1,800 miles of Greek soil before the flame is handed to London organizers May 17 in Athens.
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http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/7914586/olympic-flame-london-games-lit-greece

[DeSwiss]

1. K&R!

[pam4water]

2. Has a strange Leonard Nimoy singing The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins deja vu from those pics XD

Remember: Once seen can not be unseen!

[chelsea0011]

3. Love it.

Fingers crossed that sprinters all stay healthy. The 100 this year could be one of the great ones.