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OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY - A LINK<br />
BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
by Mr Walter BORGERS (GER)<br />
Ancient Mythology<br />
In Greek mythology, Prometheus brought a spark of heavenly fire to earth for<br />
man, his creation, thus making him the ruler of the elements. He was punished by<br />
being chained to a mountain in the Caucasus. However, the great step forward<br />
into civilization had been taken by means of the glowing pith of a torch, made<br />
from a giant fennel stalk, which had been lit from the fiery chariot of the sun. Following<br />
on from these mythical conceptions of ancient days, the fire that was<br />
brought down from heaven became a representation of reason and enlightenment,<br />
of freedom and the creative ability of the human race as a whole. In this case, too,<br />
Greek mythology has created (1) an effect which can hardly be encompassed and<br />
whose influence can be seen in the Olympic ceremonies.<br />
At the ancient festivals held in honour of Prometheus in Athens, the craftsmen,<br />
particularly the potters, honoured their patron with a torch relay for which<br />
new fire from the altar of Prometheus was brought into the city. (3) This custom<br />
was "somewhere between a procession and an athletic competition ' (3) and was<br />
held, too, in connection with the Panathenaia, the Hephaistia, but also in honour<br />
of Artemis Bendis. The variation of a torch ride can be traced back to Thracian influences.<br />
(4) Juthner describes the torch relays as "essentially a matter of cult, only<br />
secondarily a matter of sport. (5) This ambivalence also marks the modern re-enactments<br />
and probably has a direct effect on their power of fascination. It serves,<br />
moreover, to reinforce the separate nature of the Olympic Festival as a whole.<br />
"The opening ceremonies, including the lighting of the sacred flame at Archia<br />
Olympia and its relay to the New Olympic stadium are rites of separation from ordinary<br />
life, initiating the period of public liminality. ' (6)<br />
The torch as a symbol and personification in ancient and Christian mythology<br />
and art can merely be mentioned here its widespread use and its ambiguity are signs<br />
of a universal semiotics of fire. (7) Like the Prometheus myth as a whole, the<br />
ancient torch relays - the lampadedromia - have become a metaphor with a po-<br />
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