The Olympic torch, also known as the Olympic flame, is one of the symbols of the Olympics, along with the flag and medals.
The Olympic torch is a tradition that dates back to the ancient Olympic Games, held in Ancient Greece, which was retaken in the modern Olympic Games from 1928, during the celebration of the Olympics in the city of Amsterdam, Holland.
According to tradition, the Olympic torch symbolizes the fire that Prometheus steals from the gods in Greek mythology to deliver to humans. The torch, then, symbolizes the light of knowledge and the reason of men.
The flame, as such, is lit by means of solar rays in Olympia, a Greek city where the ancient Olympic Games (hence its name) were held in the remote past, during a ceremony starring a group of priestesses dressed in the style of Greek antiquity
From there, the torch begins its journey until the final ignition in the host city of the Olympic Games. During the tour, it is transported by a multitude of athletes and personalities from the world of sports through a series of relays, until its arrival at the Olympic pebetero, which is lit on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The tradition of the tour, which leads to the flame through different cities of the world, began to be celebrated since the Berlin Olympics in 1936, with the express purpose of establishing a connection between the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
The Olympic flame keeps burning since it is lit in Olympia, until the closing of the Olympic Games.
