Apollo, come and light my fire

More than 10,000 spectators, including athletes, officials and the media, gathered at Olympia today to witness the lighting of the Olympic flame. In a recreation of the ancient Olympic ceremony, Thalia Prokopiou, a Greek actress playing the high priestess, used a steel mirror and summoned the ancient god of light Apollo to do his bit and bring the flame to life at the Temple of Hera.

The lighting of the flame marks the start of the Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic flame, in the hands of 3,600 torchbearers, will be taken to 34 cities around the world and will include, for the first time, stops in Africa and South America. You can follow the progress of the Olympic Torch Relay and learn more about the places it stops at along the way on the Athens 2004 website.

The day of the this ceremony was chosen to coinside with the date the first modern Olympics opened in Athens in 1896. It also falls on the same day as Greek Independence Day and the Feast of the Annunication. Which means that parades and parties will take place today, in Greece and around the world.