The Source Of The Fire

Muhammad Ali, first called Cassius Clay, won Olympic gold in Rome in 1960.

Back in the US, when Clay was refused service in a whites-only restaurant, he threw his Olympic medal into a river. Thirty-six years later, Muhammad Ali lit the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Games, and the Internat...

The Olympic torch is lit in the way of the ancient ceremony and the temple of Hera, Greece. Actresses wear costumes of Greek priestesses and use a parabolic mirror and sun rays to light the torch. Then the torch is usually carried by runners to the host city.

The relay torch and the Olympi...

Being Greek meant two things: playing sports and going to the Olympic games, which was a fundamental mark of their culture.

Reaching Olympia was a humongous task as it involved a long journey covering the hostile territory. An Olympic truce in which people from enemy countries were allowed...