Paper published at CESH Proceedings of the 18th International Congress, Edessa 2014 In the Sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia along with the other gods and heroes, the goddess Hestia was worshipped. Hestia, who was the patroness of every house and city, was worshipped in one of the chambers of the Prytaneion of the Eleans, where a perpetual fire was tended day and night on the sacred hearth. The ashes produced by this eternal fire were transported to the altar of Zeus where the big sacrifice was held during the Olympic Games1. Following a silence of many centuries, humankind once again enjoys the Olympic Games, now throughout the world the greatest of all shared celebrations. Since 1936, the archaeological site of Olympia has hosted the Ceremony of the Lighting of the Olympic Flame: it is perhaps the most powerful of the symbols of the Olympic Movement, which apart from its other symbolisms creates and holds the link with antiquity. Yet just how stable, strong, and well justified, is this connection? In order to answer these questions this paper will ― in a very brief fashion due to the constraint of space ― discuss, firstly, the origins and symbolism of fire in the religious and the secular life of the Greco-Roman World; and, secondly, the historical steps which led to the establishment of the Olympic Flame. When focusing on the lighting ceremony I will argue that the two modern customs, namely, the lighting of the Olympic flame, and the extinguishing of it, do in fact constitute a distortion and misrepresentation of the tradition and rituals related to the sacred eternal flame of antiquity.

2. European Committee for Sports History (CESH)
Sports in education
from antiquity to modern times
Ο α η η αί η
α η αρχα η α ρα
Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of the European
Committee for Sports History (CESH)
ρα ά 18 Σ ρί η ρ α α ρ ία
ρία Φ Α α A η
Editors
Christodoulos Faniopoulos
Evangelos Albanidis
Edessa/Greece 16-18 October 2014
Watefalls Park - Water Museum

3. Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of the European
Committee for Sports History (CESH) - Edessa, 16-18 October, 2014
Edition supported by :
Municipality of Edessa – Municipal Enterprise of Edessa
CESH
Section editors:
Christodoulos Faniopoulos (Chapter 3)
Evangelos Albanidis (Chapter 5)
Nikolaos Kameas (Chapter 1)
Aikaterini Samara (Chapter 1, 8)
Athinodoros I. Moschopoulos (Chapter 2)
Anestis Giannakopoulos (Chapter 4)
Evangelia Vouzanidou (Chapter 7)
Evangelos Kiriakou (Chapter 6)
Scientific Committee:
Evangelos Albanidis, Democritus University of Thrace (Greece)
Wolfgang Decker, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (Germany)
Fernando García Romero, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)
Teresa González Aja, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
Mike Huggins, University of Cumbria (UK)
Arnd Krüger, Georg-August- Universität Göttingen (Germany)
Daphné Bolz, Université de Rouen (France)
Wray Vamplew, University of Stirling (UK)
Joachim Rühl, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (Germany)
Angela Teja, Società Italiana di Storia dello Sport (Italy)
Xavier Pujadas, Universidad Ramon Llull de Barcelona (Spain)
Jean Saint-Martin, Université de Strasbourg (France)
Alejandro de la Viuda Serrano, Universidad Camilo José Cela (Spain)
Marcello Marchioni, ASSI Giglio Rosso (Italy)
Konstantinos Georgiadis, University of Peloponnese (Greece)
Athanasios Anastasiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
© By the authors.
2015. All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-618-82217-0-3
Edited and printed in Edessa (Greece)
Municipal Enterprise of Edessa, η χ ίρη η Έ α
QUESTA GR-5800 Edessa (Greece)

4. Message of the Mayor of the City of Waters, City of waterfalls, City of
Edessa, Land of Alexander the Great.
With great satisfaction do I have the honor to welcome the publication of the
proceedings of the XVIII International CESH Congress on Sports History &
Education which was successfully held in the town of Edessa. Sports have
always been an important part of the history of our country so during the
congress we were given the opportunity to talk, share and learn about sport
and its role in today’s societies, to exchange different points of views of
diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
I would like to thank all who contributed to the realization of the congress
and to this edition which I believe will also be a legacy for the next
generations.
Dimitrios Giannou
City of Edessa Mayor
Message by the President of the Organizing Committee for 18th
International Congress of CESH
Dear Colleagues,
During its over ‘18 years’ history, the CESH Association has developed a
tradition of achievements in the field of sports history. It reunites the Sports
Societies from all over the world, not only the European countries, in an effort
to regularly exchange information and good practice in scientific research and
in higher education. Every year, an International CESH Congress of Sports
History has been organized, with high scientific standards.
Our aim is to offer a new knowledge about Sports Education with a special
focus on the hidden fields. The year 2014 was devoted to, athletics from
antiquity to modern times.
From the Edessa, city of waterfalls, the heart of the ancient Macedonian
Kingdom, land of Alexander the Great, spirit & light of Greek civilization.
Christodoulos Faniopoulos
President of Technical Organizing Committee
3

5. Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of the European
Committee for Sports History (CESH) - Edessa, 16-18 October, 2014
Municipality of Edessa - Waterfalls of Edessa Municipal Enterprise - CESH
4

6. Contents
Section 1
Wolfgang Decker
(key note)
Das Gymnasion in der griechischen Antike 11
Fernando García Romero
(Key note)
α ία αί η α α η ό η Αρχα ή α
α ή ά α
21
István Kertész When did Attalus of Pergamon gain the victory at Olympia? 34
Evangelos Albanidis The gymnasiarch Menas of Sestos and his contribution to training
youth during the 2nd cent. B.C.
39
Aikaterini Samara,
Evangelos Albanidis
Sports in education in Hellenistic Egypt as given in Theocritus’
Idyll 24 (Heracliscos)
44
Violeta Šiljak Possible Ways Of Performing Turns In Diaulos Race At Ancient
Olympic Games
50
Konstantinos Antonopoulos Keep the Sacred Flame burning: The eternal fire and the cult of
goddess Hestia in Olympia and the Greco-roman world. Is the
Olympic Flame of the modern era well founded and linked with
the ancient tradition?
56
Maria Sarantiti Eranisma of female presence in sports during Roman and Greek
antiquity
63
Section 2
Panagiotis Ioannidis Conceptions Regarding Body, Physical Exercise And Sports In
The Platonic Political Thought: Investigating Extensions In The
European Interwar
69
Nikolaos Kameas,
Evangelos Albanidis.
The ancient Greek ideal of “fair play” in the light of Friedrich
Nietzsche’s philosophy.
76
Konstantinos Piperas,
Christodoulos Faniopoulos
Religious and Cultural diversity: A chance of meeting and
accepting the prospect of Sport Education
83
Triantafyllia Gelani.,
Nikolaos Kameas.,
Athanasios Kasabalis.
“John Chrysostom’s views for education and athletics based on
his work: About vanity and how parents must nurture their
children”
89
Section 3
Gherardo Bonini Politics and ideological representation in weightlifting history
with focus for years 1919-1947
95
Teresa González-Aja “L’oevre Préférée” de l’état Franquiste Durant Son étape “Bleue” 101
Σ α - αρία α α Σ αρ α α α ρ α Ο α : Α ηχη η Σ η
η η α
110
5

7. Akisato Suzuki Fußball der Besatzungssoldaten im 1945: Beziehung mit dem
Wiener Fußball.
117
Α η α α ,
ά Α α ί η
Φ Α α ά η άρ α η α ρία η ά α
(1967-1974).
125
Eleonora Belloni,
Giacomo Zanibelli
Scuola e Sport in Italia. Progetti e riforme dallo stato liberale al
fascismo
130
Section 4
Vassiliki Tzachrista Ideological representations and educational practices of the
«Αthens 2004» Olympic Education Program
139
Cervelló i Pastor, Núria Los Deportes en la difusión del Olimpismo en la prensa deportiva
de finales del siglo XIX en Cataluña
144
Denis Jallat Pratiques nautiques et éducation en France: des rapports
complexes
153
Alizé Valette,
Jean-Nicolas Renaud et Jean
Saint-Martin
La Foulée Notre Temps : un second souffle pour la Foulée
Blanche (1989-2005) ?
159
Section 5
Mike Huggins
(Key note)
Beyond the Curriculum: Changing British Strategies Towards PE
& Sport for Young People 5-19 between 1945 and 2013: World
Class Aims, Second Class Outcomes?
169
Evangelia Vouzanidou,
Evangelos Albanidis
The articles in the Ladies’ Journal about girls’ physical education
in Greece in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century
179
Christodoulos Faniopoulos,
Pelagia Liandi
Delmouzos’ views on the promotion of physical education in
schools in the first half of the 20th century in Greece
183
Joachim K. Ruehl Britain’s Public Schools with their
extracurricular on-campus sports and games for boys up to the
nineteen-forties
187
Tsiamis Kostantinos Ο α ρ Α Αρχ 20 Α α α Ρ
η Φ Α Σ η Σχ
195
Section 6
Petru Eugen Merghes - Narcis
Ion Varan
Education – Sports – Health at Banat’s University of Agricultural
Sciences and Veterinary Medicine δKing Michael I of Romania”
from Timisoara
203
Fernando Paulo Rosa de
Freitas, Sara Quenzer
Matthiesen
Teaching the history of pole vault in an elementary school as
result of a research process.
206
6

8. Panagiota Koutsogiannis,
Andreas Avgerinos
Σ ρ η α ά α χρ α
α η ρ ρ ία
211
Section 7
Athinodoros I.Moschopoulos,
Evangelos Albanidis,
Athanasios Anastasiou
The establishment of the C.I.S.M. and the early contribution of the
Hellenic Armed Forces for “friendship through sport”
221
Stavroula Vamvakitou,
Evangelos Albanidis
The history of Rowing in modern Greece 227
Eleftheria Panou,
Athanasios Anastasiou
Pamvalkanikoi Agones: Their contribution to the diplomatic
relations among the Balkan states (1930-1933).
233
Petru Eugen Merghes,
Narcis Ion Varan
Appearance and development of football in western Romania 240
Section 8
Stavros Tsonias,
Athanasios Anastasiou
The Starting point of the Marathon race 247
ρ η α η ρ ί α χ ρ η Α α . η α α ρ ρα α ,
α α ρ η η α α- α χρ η
254
ί α η η α α Α’ ί α ί
α η Α α (1896).
258
7

11. Konstantinos Antonopoulos
Keep the Sacred Flame burning: The eternal fire and the cult of goddess
Hestia in Olympia and the Greco-roman world. Is the Olympic Flame of
the modern era well founded and linked with the ancient tradition?
Konstantinos Antonopoulos
Hellenic Ministry of Culture
Fig 1. The lighting of the Olympic Flame for the 22nd Winter Olympic Games "Sochi 2014"
Hellenic Olympic Committee©
In the Sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia along with the other gods and heroes, the goddess
Hestia was worshipped. Hestia, who was the patroness of every house and city, was worshipped
in one of the chambers of the Prytaneion of the Eleans, where a perpetual fire was tended day and
night on the sacred hearth. The ashes produced by this eternal fire were transported to the altar of
Zeus where the big sacrifice was held during the Olympic Games1.
Following a silence of many centuries, humankind once again enjoys the Olympic Games,
now throughout the world the greatest of all shared celebrations. Since 1936, the archaeological
site of Olympia has hosted the Ceremony of the Lighting of the Olympic Flame: it is perhaps the
most powerful of the symbols of the Olympic Movement, which apart from its other symbolisms
creates and holds the link with antiquity. Yet just how stable, strong, and well justified, is this
connection?
In order to answer these questions this paper will ― in a very brief fashion due to the
constraint of space ― discuss, firstly, the origins and symbolism of fire in the religious and the
secular life of the Greco-Roman World; and, secondly, the historical steps which led to the
establishment of the Olympic Flame.
When focusing on the lighting ceremony I will argue that the two modern customs,
namely, the lighting of the Olympic flame, and the extinguishing of it, do in fact constitute a
56

12. CESH  Proceedings of the 18th
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Konstantinos Antonopoulos
distortion and misrepresentation of the tradition and rituals related to the sacred eternal flame of
antiquity.
Furthermore, along with the recent appearance of its new competitor the Panathenaic
Flame of the Youth Olympic Games2, along with a constantly increasing number of other flames
related to sporting events, we today are presented with nothing less than a mass violation upon
historical accuracy. Altogether, such developments greatly threaten to degenerate the originally
intended meaning and significance associated with the Olympic Flame.
In an effort to help to put a check upon any insensitive devaluations to the original notion
of the Olympic Flame, this study will argue the need for certain major reformations to modern
Games’ flame practice. Suggested are rectifications to restore the line of historical validity, which,
it is hoped will help the Olympic Movement continue along a brilliant path as we course on
through the 21st century.
The production of fire by man was a groundbreaking discovery in the history of
civilization. Fire helps to sustain and to renew life. Added to its main beneficial properties as a
source of heat and light, fire acquired over time a diversity of other uses. Apart from its practical
and functional applications fire was lit, and even today continues to be lit, for an array of symbolic,
metaphorical, and emblematic reasons. A perennial centre of attention, fire happens to be, as a
radiant focus, able to reduce from humans’ contemplation a range of powerful associations and
meanings. This access to intimations of compelling power opened the road for the diachronic
element of fire to become an important feature of every religion on the globe and, in some cases,
the core.
In Hellenic and Roman antiquity, fire held a prominent role as an ingredient of
mythology and religion as well as a favorite topic for philosophers. This is reflected in the many
and imaginative stories of gods and heroes and the many philosophical writings of the ancient
literature.
In this short paper only the very basic elements of the popular story of Prometheus and of
the cult of Hestia–Vesta will be reminded, leaving aside the many other important fire-related
gods heroes and figures like Hephaistus, Zeus, Phoroneus, or the group of Kabeiroi, Idean
Daktiloi, Telchines, deamons and warriors related to metallurgy and the use of fire.
Prometheus, the titan-god, probably ranks among the most important and popular figures
of Hellenic mythology. Fire was his powerful gift to mankind: it kindled human civilization.
Prometheus’ bold and generous act violated the boundary between the earthly and heavenly
places: by way of his trangressive act, he became, effectively, a mediator between humans and
gods. Prometheus’ gift to men was so important that consequently they began honouring him in
various ways. Hyginus, the Roman mythographer of the 2nd Cent CE, reports that people in their
sports competitions included a torch relay commemorating Prometheus’ theft of fire from the
gods3.
When reporting the torch races in honour of Prometheus that where organised in Attica,
Pausanias4 offers more detail and description. He informs us that the athletes started from the altar
of Prometheus in the Akademia outside the city of Athens, and that they then ran towards the city
each one holding a burning torch. The winner was the one who finished the competition first with
his torch still alight.
Equal to the male gods and other mythical figures closely related to fire, Hestia attained
an important position in Hellenic myth and religion. Her presence was considered a prerequisite
for the progress and prosperity of society. All household and many of the public rites took place
before the hearth at the center of the house and of the city.
In the Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon we come across several meanings of the
word ἑ ία, or ἱ ίη: 1. hearth of a house 2. the house itself, a home 3. a household, a family 4. an
altar, like ἐ χάρα 5. metaphorical of places which are to a country as the hearth is to a house, as a
metropolis5.
The hearth became the sacred center of every house: it was the altar where the family
offered its sacrifices to the gods and to Hestia, the goddess protectress of every home and family
and provider of domestic happiness.
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Especially in later times in the Athenian society, all the important events of family life,
such as births, marriages, and deaths, were accompanied accordingly with the appropriate passage
rites at the family hearth6.
In prehistoric communities the hearth of the chief or king was especially important for
practical, religious, and societal reasons. The chief was responsible for maintaining this permanent
fire: a duty that he entrusted to slaves or young women, who, in the case of Rome, were required
to be daughters (virgins)7.
In most cases, the public hearth was located in a specially assigned hall of the prytaneum,
which was located somewhere in the center of the city; it was here where Hestia received sacrifices
from the prytanes. It was a tradition that when a city founded a colony, then on the new city’s
public hearth there should burn an eternal fire that was brought by the emigrants from their
original metropolis8.
The qualities, ideas, and characteristics of Hestia were also attributed to Vesta ― the
equivalent goddess of the Romans. Although the two goddesses had similar duties and their
privileges and rituals almost coincided, nevertheless, there were several differences.
The founding myths of the city of Rome reveal the importance of the goddess Vesta. In
her separate circular Temple built in imitation of a primitive round hut, burned the eternal flame,
carefully tended by the Vestal Virgins. The temple was situated on the southern part of the Forum
Romanum next to Regia (the Royal House) and the Atrium Vestae. Besides the sacred fire also the
Palladium, an effigy of Athene (Minerva) believed to have been brought by Aeneas from Troy, was
kept here9.
Over the course of time the significance of Vesta’s cult grew dramatically. It was believed
that Rome would exist as long as the eternal flame kept burning10. And, if due to the carelessness
of a priestess the flame was ever quenched, sore punishments ― even the death penalty ― awaited
the Vestals. As Plutarch attests in the biography of Numa Pomplius, the sacred fire was rekindled
from the sun’s rays with the use of a metalic mirror 11. It is exactly this method that inspired the
lighting of the modern Olympic Flame.
At Olympia, the altar where the sacred flame of Hestia was kept perpetually burning, was
situated in the Prytaneion of the Eleans ― a building at the north-western corner of the precinct,
directly opposite the gymnasium.
The Prytaneion of the Eleans, was one of the civic buildings: the headquarters of the
sanctuary, where the magistrates, the high officials who supervised the sacrifices, had their seat. Its
initial core dates to the late sixth or early fifth century BCE, but it was repeatedly remodeled and
enlarged later12.
Given the distance between Elis and Olympia (>40 km) the civic nature and use of the
Prytaneion at Olympia only make sense as part of the strong desire to demonstrate Elean
ownership of the Sanctuary13.
Pausanias informs us that the Eleans sacrificed to Hestia first at her altar in Prytaneion
and then they proceeded with the sacrifices to Zeus and the other Gods, confirming the general old
custom of the Greeks14.
Professor St. Miller argues that, due to the the sacrosanct character accorded to the city
state of Elis as the host of the deeply respected Olympic Games, the Prytaneion at Olympia was in
some sense a hearth common to all Greeks15.
In modern times, the lighting of the Olympic flame, hosted and performed since 1936 at
the Archaeological Site of Olympia, is probably the most solemn of all the ceremonies witnessed at
the Games: it is a set of artistic and theatrical acts that honours the human spirit and existence16.
However, it is important to clarify that the lighting of the Olympic Flame and the Torch
Relay from the temple of Hera in Olympia are inventions of the modern Olympic Movement: this
enactment does not correspond with any practice in the sanctuary of Zeus in antiquity17 (See Table
Plan of Olympia, magenta arrow).
The modern Olympic Movement seems confused about the two different customs: firstly,
the lighting of the Olympic flame; secondly, the torch relay18. Often these symbolic acts are treated
as one event19.
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Nevertheless, regarding their origins, we can notice the combination and contribution of
two separate cults of antiquity, shortly presented above: the first is that of Hestia/Vesta, and the
second being that of Prometheus.
What is more, the lighting ceremony of the modern Olympic Flame, in fact refers and
combines two other ancient customs. One custom was the ritual of the (re-) kindling of the sacred
eternal flame of Hestia from the sun’s rays, mainly in case it has accidentaly been extinguished20.
The other custom entailed the lighting during the Olympiad of the big sacrificial fire on the altar of
Zeus21. And this last was effected not by means of the sun’s rays but by the transfering of flame
from the existing source of the sacred fire of Hestia in the Prytaneion of Olympia.
Interestingly enough, under the influence of ancient customs, fire and torches as a means
of heightening the effect for the first Olympiads of the modern era, appeared very early, even
before the Athens 1896 1st Olympiad22. This paved the way until the turning point was reached at
the 1936 Berlin Olympiad, when the double institution of the lighting of the Olympic Flame
ceremony and the torch relay was established and has remained almost unchanged to the present
time.
For the ‟sacrilege” of extinguishing the sacred Olympic Flame we can ‟blame” Alexandros
Philadelpheus, the eminent Greek archaeologist and writer who came up with the thought of
lighting the flame according to the model provided by the ancient literature. He, given his wealth
of knowledge, could have made the more historically accurate suggestion that the new Olympic
flame lit for the Berlin Games be not subsequently extinguished. Or, maybe, C. Diem, the General
Secretary of the Organising Committee of the Berlin Games ― and the protagonist for the
establishment of the ceremonial of the torch relay ― can also be considered ‟responsible” for not
saving the sacred Flame.
In fact, it would have been quite difficult for either of them to have prevented such a
‟sacrilege” since already the ritual of extinguishing the Flame during the Closing Ceremony of the
Olympic Games had entered into practice: at the 1928 and 1932 Summer, and the 1936 Winter
Olympiads, when the fire did not yet had the ultimate symbolisms that the Olympic Movement
attributed to it later. It well explains how the extinguishing of the flame became a "ritual" even
before the newly established sacred flame of Olympia reached the Berlin Stadium for the 1936
Summer Olympic Games. No one thought that this flame was different from the previous ones,
since it was not lit in Berlin’s Stadium, but in ancient Olympia, a place of high sacredness, by a
method that in antiquity produced a sacred eternal fire.
Because of the neglect at the early stages of any strict attention to ancient practices
involving the flame, and of a continuing attitude of casualness towards ritual practices involving
fire, further instances of erosion in the use of the symbol have appeared in recent years in the
Olympic Movement, in the shape of practices that are threatening to the purity and integrity of the
Olympic Flame.
After a series of particularly catastrophic decisions by the IOC, a substitute ― or more
aptly, a fake ― Olympic Flame has since officially been lit on two occasions: in the Panathenaic
Stadium in Athens for the 1st Winter, and the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games for Innsbruck
and Nanjing respectively. This new initiative directly circumvents article 13 of the Olympic
Charter, which states that: ‟The Olympic flame is the flame which is kindled in Olympia under the
authority of the IOC”23.
Following upon the tremendous impact and success of the Olympic Flame as a symbol
there are now many flames being lit for different sporting events, each copying directly or
indirectly ― and in most instances unsuccessfully ― the Olympic ceremonials and customs related
to the flame. In short, a veritable wildfire of flames has been spawned. A sample of the flames to-
date includes: the Marathon Flame, the Paralympic Flame, the Special Olympics’ Flame, the Asian
Games Flame.But undoubtedly, the most ‟provocative” flame of all, is the so-called ‟Olympic
Fire”. This flame burns eternally in a marble cauldron outside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne,
“in front of the eyes” of Coubertin's bronze statue, close to the headquarters of the International
Olympic Committee. Sourrounded by the other, official symbols, this fire was lit by laser (!!!) at
Lausanne Federal Polytechnic on 23 June 1993 and carried to the Museum in a relay. As the author
believes, it was intentionally not called ‟Olympic Flame” because it would not be easy for the IOC
to justify its decision to have it burning in Lausanne and not in Ancient Olympia.
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Ever since the 1936 Berlin Games, officials, journalists and authors have used the term
‟sacred” to describe the Olympic Flame which is being kindled in Olympia24. Yet no one thus far,
has raised an argument against the deliberate extinguishing of such a flame. Isn’t it a huge
conceptual and moral controversy for the universal, spiritual, and uniting light kindled in
Olympia to have a life of only 15 days? Does not this custom in effect condemn humanity to
spiritual darkness until the next Olympiad, until the next lighting ceremony?
I dare now to correct the ‟ommission” of my colleague, the late Alexander Philadelpheus,
in proposing the re-establishment of the sacred eternal Flame in Olympia, on a specially made altar
at the Prytaneion25. (See Table, Plan of Olympia ,red arrow). Also, such an altar to be erected at
every city in the world when it hosts organised Olympic Games. This eternal Olympic Flame could
be symbolicaly but also actually guarded and tended daily, as in antiquity, by three or more
actresses personifying the ancient Vestals.
Moreover, the IOC could revive another ancient custom: that of the ‟conveying/
borrowing of the flame”. With a carefully documented and executed solemn ceremony, a smaller
group from the team of performers personifying vestals would be able to transport the Olympic
Flame for the implementation of the different Olympic events around the world.
The Ceremony of the Lighting of the Olympic Flame should be preserved but with the
appropriate scientific justification, and only for the quadrennial summer and winter Olympic
Games.
Let us hope that the Flame at the altar of Prytaneion will be renewed. As Dr. Henri
Pouret pleaded the audience of IOA Y.P. Session in 1976 I am also inviting you to follow Pierre de
Coubertin's advice: «Keep the sacred flame burning.»26. This time not only symbolically, but also
practically.
Fig 2. Hestia (wearing veil) and Amphitrite
Attic red figure Kylix from Vulci, (Berlin F 2278) signed by the painter Sosias ca. 500 BC
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin ©
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TABLE
Fig 3.Ancient Olympia site map
(retrieved from: http://shelton.berkeley.edu/175c/OlympiaPlan.JPG on 16.02.2015)
Notes
1Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.15.9: “In the Prytaneion itself, on the right as you enter the room where
they have the hearth, is an altar of Pan. This hearth too is made of ashes, and on it fire burns every day and
likewise every night. The ashes from this hearth, according to the account I have already given, they bring to
the altar of Olympian Zeus, and what is brought from the hearth contributes a great deal to the size of the
altar.” English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge,
MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
2At the local press of the region of Elis has been named 'Pseudo-Olympic Flame', "fake flame" "imitation
flame" etc.
3Hyginus, Astronomica. 2.15.
4Pausanias, Description of Greece I.30.2.
5Liddell Scott: A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford, 1940. Vol. II, p.340
6 Hornblower S. Spawforth A, & Eidinow E. (Ed): The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford, 2012, p. 679.
7Smith, William, L. W. : A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London 1890, p. 523.
8 Pindar, Nemeonicus. 11.1.
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9Dionysus Of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 2.65.2:“..For they say that nothing is more necessary for men than
a public hearth, and that nothing more nearly concerned Romulus, in view of his descent, since his ancestors had
brought the sacred rites of this goddess from Ilium and his mother had been her priestess. Those, then, who for these
reasons ascribe the building of the temple to Romulus rather than to Numa seem to be right, in so far as the general
principle is concerned, that when a city was being founded, it was necessary for a hearth to be established first of all,
particularly by a man who was not unskilled in matters of religion”,
10Dixon-Kennedy, Mike: Encyclopedia of Greco Roman Mythology. California, 1998, p.318.
11 Plutarch, Numa, 9.7.
12 Papachatzis, Nikolaos: Pausanias Description of Greece Books V & VI. Athens 1979, p.275.
13 Scott, Michael: Delphi and Olympia. Cambridge 2010, p.157.
14 Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.14.4
15 Miller, Stephen: Ancient Greek Athletics. New Haven 2004, p.87.
16 Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games S.A: Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad.
Athens 2005, p. 37: Regarding the symbolisms of the Olympic Flame, we read at the Official Report of
Athens 2004 Olympic Games:"..From ancient times the flame had symbolised man's power to resist the wishes of the
gods, as well as man's ability to define his own future through knowledge... The values and symbolism expressed by the
Flame have the power of universal human experience, and the sacred fire became a world symbol of peace, a symbol of
civilisation and a point of connection for the youth of the world. The ritual of lighting the flame and the torch relay
highlights the timelessness of the Olympic Games, a unique blend of sport and culture, which aims to promote the
noblest ideals of human existence"
17 Kratzmuehler, Bettina: "The Olympic Flame - The Ancient Roots of a Symbol (mis-?)used for Ideological
Propaganda in 1936", in: Proceedings of CESH Congress, Besancon 2002, p.89: Bettina Kratzmiller have
argued that “….no part of the modern kindling-ceremony can really be connected with the performance of the ancient
Olympic Games. Due to the selection of certain details however and the manner in which these details are configured,
by 1936 the fire-keeping women had already come to symbolize Vestal purity" .
18Skiadas, Elefterios G: The Olympic Flame, the torch of centuries, Athens, 2004, p. 30.
19At the relevant section the official IOC's site (www.olympic.org), the head title is "The Olympic Torch Relay:
From the Lighting Ceremony in Olympia to the Host City".
20There is no information in the literary sources that such accident had ever happened at Hestia's eternal
flame in the Sanctuary of Olympia. On the contrary, in Philostratus' Gymnasticus (Ch.5) we are informed
about the importance and the close relation, at least in the early years, of fire with the oldest and most
prominent of all the disciplines of the Olympic Games, the stadion race: "...The stadion was invented as follows:
when the Eleans had sacrificed in the accustomed way, the offeringswere placed on the altar, but with no fire yet applied to
them. The runners stood one stade away from the altar and a priest stood in front of it as umpire, holding a torch; and the
winner of the race, having set fire to the offerings, went away as Olympic victor." The fire for this ritual should have
be taken from the ever burning sacred flame on the altar of Hestia in Olympia.
21Valavanis, Panos: Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens 2004,
p.150.
22Borgers, Walter: "Olympic Torch Relay - A link Between Ancient and Modern Olympic Games" in:
Georgiades, Konstantinos (ed), International Olympic Academy Report of the 36 Session 16/6 - 2/7/1996 (p. 140).
IOC – IOA.
23Although recently revised (September 2014), the Olympic Charter has no such provision for the Youth
Olympic Flame
24HOC President Mr Spyros I. Capralos, May 10th 2012 source: http://www.hoc.gr/ - (retrieved on
29.08.2014):“The Flame is one of the most distinguished and essential symbols of Olympism. Ιt is an integral part of
the Olympic heritage, which links the Games of Antiquity, with the modern ones. It plays the part of a timeless bridge
that connects the past with the present and the next day of humanity. The Olympic Flame is also the sacred symbol of
friendship, peace and harmonious coexistence of peoples, noble competition and fair play. When passed in the hands of
people of all ages, of both sexes, of different cultures, education and origin, it actually underlines all these elements that
unite humanity rather than divide it.”
25According to the results of the Olympic Flame Survey, implemented at the Archaeological Site of Olympia
in August 2014, 86% of the participants (visitors of Olympia) answer positively to the question; "Would you
like to see a permanent flame burning again inside the archaeological site of Olympia?".To view the survey,
visit
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By9n0-Dn8pcqSjRwNG12VGJjaTA/view?usp=sharing
26Pouret, Henri: The Olympic Flame. International Olympic Academy Report of the 15th Session 11, 1/7/1975,
pp. 123.
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