Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Fire 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, when a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the Olympics in 1928, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. The modern torch relay was introduced by Adolf Hitler, at the Berlin Games of 1936, as part of an effort to turn the games into a glorification of the Third Reich http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/sports/olympics/14torch.html?ex=1125028800&en=b03a2ced37ef6137&ei=5070. But despite its Nazi origin, the torch ceremony is still practiced as of 2005.

References

• Olympische Spiele – Die Chronik by Volker Kluge (five parts)
• Hitler's Berlin Games Helped Make Some Emblems Popular - New York Times article
• Olympic Symbols Have Sinister Origins - Discovery Channel article