The Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) is a campaign to benefit the Special Olympics . It began in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas , and is the largest grass-roots fundraising movement for the Special Olympics.
107-454: LETR is run by police officers, sheriff's deputies, correction officers, support staff, police volunteers and other law enforcement professionals from around the world. Close to 97,000 police professionals in over 45 countries participate in this worldwide effort to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics. Participants in the LETR help spread the word about the benefits of Special Olympics and how
214-574: A Native American canoe , a camel , and Concorde . The torch has been carried across water; during the French leg of the 1968 Winter Olympics was carried across the port of Marseilles by a diver holding it aloft above the water. In 2000, an underwater flare was used by a diver across the Great Barrier Reef en route to the Sydney Games. In 2012 it was carried by boat across Bristol Harbour in
321-547: A fennel stalk and restored it to humanity ( 565–566 ). This further enraged Zeus, who sent the first woman to live with humanity ( Pandora , not explicitly mentioned). The woman, a "shy maiden", was fashioned by Hephaestus out of clay and Athena helped to adorn her properly ( 571–574 ). Hesiod writes, "From her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth" ( 590–594 ). For his crimes, Prometheus
428-458: A god of fire . Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and, more generally, civilization . In some versions of the myth , he is also credited with the creation of humanity from clay . Prometheus is known for his intelligence and for being a champion of mankind and is also generally seen as
535-409: A pilot light hidden inside the torch which is protected from wind and rain and is capable of relighting the cooler, more visible portion if it is extinguished. The fuel contained inside the torch is able to keep it lit for approximately 15 minutes before it would be extinguished. The flame is transported from Greece to the host country where the flame is transported by torch around the host nation to
642-579: A British Olympic champion — who then each lit a single tiny flame on the ground, igniting 204 copper petals before they converged to form the cauldron for the Games. The first well-known athlete to light the cauldron in the stadium was the ninefold Olympic Champion Paavo Nurmi , who excited the home crowd in Helsinki in 1952. In 1968, Enriqueta Basilio became the first woman to light the Olympic Cauldron at
749-561: A Greek gem roughly dated to the time of the Hesiod poems, which show Prometheus with hands bound behind his body and crouching before a bird with long wings. This same image would also be used later in the Rome of the Augustan age as documented by Furtwangler . In the often cited and highly publicised interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers on Public Television, the author of The Hero with
856-458: A Thousand Faces presented his view on the comparison of Prometheus and Jesus . Moyers asked Campbell the question in the following words, "In this sense, unlike heroes such as Prometheus or Jesus, we're not going on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves." To which Campbell's well-known response was that, "But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes, there's no doubt about it. The world without spirit
963-714: A ceremony in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens from the Hellenic Olympic Committee to the current year's National Olympic Committee (NOC) and local Organizing Committee (OCOG) hosts. The Olympic torch relay , which transports the Olympic flame from Olympia , Greece to the various designated sites of the Games, had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. At
1070-614: A continuing debate among scholars of comparative religion and the literary reception of mythological and religious subject matter as to whether the typology of suffering and torment represented in the Prometheus myth finds its more representative comparisons with the narratives of the Hebrew scriptures or with the New Testament narratives. In the Book of Job , significant comparisons can be drawn between
1177-539: A critic to construct an Aeschylean theology would be as quixotic as designing a typology of Aeschylean man. The needs of the drama prevail." In a rare comparison of Prometheus in Aeschylus with Oedipus in Sophocles, Harold Bloom states that "Freud called Oedipus an 'immoral play,' since the gods ordained incest and parricide. Oedipus therefore participates in our universal unconscious sense of guilt, but on this reading so do
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#17328691237061284-423: A cruciform manner, possibly reflecting an Aeschylus-inspired manner of influence, again with an eagle and with Heracles approaching from the side. Some two dozen other Greek and Roman authors retold and further embellished the Prometheus myth from as early as the 5th century BC ( Diodorus , Herodorus ) into the 4th century AD. The most significant detail added to the myth found in, e.g., Sappho , Aesop and Ovid
1391-436: A day to supply you for a full year even without working; soon would you put away your rudder over the smoke, and the fields worked by ox and sturdy mule would run to waste" ( 44–47 ). Hesiod also adds more information to Theogony ' s story of the first woman, a maiden crafted from earth and water by Hephaestus now explicitly called Pandora (" all gifts ") ( 82 ). Zeus in this case gets the help of Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes,
1498-466: A dramatist revisiting the myth of Prometheus in the age of Athenian prominence has been discussed by William Lynch. Lynch's general thesis concerns the rise of humanist and secular tendencies in Athenian culture and society which required the growth and expansion of the mythological and religious tradition as acquired from the most ancient sources of the myth stemming from Hesiod. For Lynch, modern scholarship
1605-447: A fake flame, consisting of a pair of underpants set on fire in a plum pudding can, attached to a chair leg. He successfully managed to hand over the fake flame to the Mayor of Sydney , Pat Hills and escape without being noticed. The Olympic torch travels routes that symbolise human achievement or the history of the host country. Although most of the time the torch with the Olympic flame
1712-450: A few other religious sites in Greece devoted to Prometheus. Both Argos and Opous claimed to be Prometheus' final resting place, each erecting a tomb in his honour. The Greek city of Panopeus had a cult statue that was supposed to honour Prometheus for having created the human race there. Prometheus' torment by the eagle and his rescue by Heracles were popular subjects in vase paintings of
1819-472: A key role in bringing Zeus to power, he also attributed to him secret knowledge that could lead to Zeus's downfall: Prometheus had been told by his mother Themis , who in the play is identified with Gaia (Earth), of a potential marriage that would produce a son who would overthrow Zeus. Fragmentary evidence indicates that Heracles, as in Hesiod, frees the Titan in the trilogy's second play, Prometheus Unbound . It
1926-530: A lowly challenger to Zeus 's omniscience and omnipotence. In the trick at Mecone ( 535–544 ), a sacrificial meal marking the "settling of accounts" between mortals and immortals, Prometheus played a trick against Zeus. He placed two sacrificial offerings before the Olympian: a selection of beef hidden inside an ox's stomach (nourishment hidden inside a displeasing exterior), and the bull's bones wrapped completely in "glistening fat" (something inedible hidden inside
2033-542: A mountainside – though the rest of his career is dissimilar to that of Prometheus. The three most prominent aspects of the Prometheus myth have parallels within the beliefs of many cultures. "The Prometheus myth of creation as a visual symbol of the Neoplatonic concept of human nature, illustrated in (many) sarcophagi , was evidently a contradiction of the Christian teaching of the unique and simultaneous act of creation by
2140-416: A pleasing exterior). Zeus chose the latter, setting a precedent for future sacrifices ( 556–557 ). Henceforth, humans would keep that meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods. This angered Zeus, who hid fire from humans in retribution. In this version of the myth, the use of fire was already known to humans, but withdrawn by Zeus. Prometheus stole fire back from Zeus in
2247-430: A rock, and each of them received punishment for the gift which they bestowed to humankind, for Jesus this was the gift of propitiation from Heaven, and, for Prometheus this was the gift of fire from Olympus. Significantly, Campbell is also clear to indicate the limits of applying the metaphors of his methodology in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces too closely in assessing the comparison of Prometheus and Jesus. Of
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#17328691237062354-556: A sarcophagus of the Church at Mas d'Aire as well, and in an even more direct comparison to what Raggio refers to as "a coarsely carved relief from Campli ( Teramo ) (where) the Lord sits on a throne and models the body of Adam, exactly like Prometheus". Still another such similarity is found in the example found on a Hellenistic relief presently in the Louvre in which the Lord gives life to Eve through
2461-635: A son greater than the father – Achilles , Greek hero of the Trojan War . Pseudo-Apollodorus moreover clarifies a cryptic statement (1026–29) made by Hermes in Prometheus Bound , identifying the centaur Chiron as the one who would take on Prometheus' suffering and die in his place. Reflecting a myth attested in Greek vase paintings from the Classical period, Pseudo-Apollodorus places the Titan (armed with an axe) at
2568-454: Is a wasteland. People have the notion of saving the world by shifting things around, changing the rules [...] No, no! Any world is a valid world if it's alive. The thing to do is to bring life to it, and the only way to do that is to find in your own case where the life is and become alive yourself." For Campbell, Jesus suffered mortally on the Cross while Prometheus suffered eternally while chained to
2675-569: Is apparently not until Prometheus reveals this secret of Zeus's potential downfall that the two reconcile in the final play, Prometheus the Fire-Bringer or Prometheus Pyrphoros , a lost tragedy by Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound also includes two mythic innovations of omission. The first is the absence of Pandora 's story in connection with Prometheus' own. Instead, Aeschylus includes this one oblique allusion to Pandora and her jar that contained Hope (252): "[Prometheus] caused blind hopes to live in
2782-625: Is hampered by not having the full trilogy of Prometheus by Aeschylus, the last two parts of which have been lost to antiquity. Significantly, Lynch further comments that although the Prometheus trilogy is not available, the Orestia trilogy by Aeschylus remains available and may be assumed to provide significant insight into the overall structural intentions which may be ascribed to the Prometheus trilogy by Aeschylus as an author of significant consistency and exemplary dramatic erudition. Harold Bloom , in his research guide for Aeschylus, has summarised some of
2889-405: Is presented as superior to merely natural instincts ( physis ). For Plato, only the virtues of "reverence and justice can provide for the maintenance of a civilised society – and these virtues are the highest gift finally bestowed on men in equal measure". The ancients by way of Plato believed that the name Prometheus derived from the Greek prefix pro - (before) + manthano (intelligence) and
2996-454: Is seen living on Mount Olympus after the end of his long torture, apparently having reconciled with the other gods. He is presented not as the dauntless rebel who questioned Zeus, but rather as a timid god who goes to negotiate with the titular Birds disguised, so that Zeus will not notice him talking to the enemy. Zahhak , an evil figure in Iranian mythology , also ends up eternally chained on
3103-748: Is still carried by runners, it has been transported in many different ways. The fire travelled by boat in 1948 and 2012 to cross the English Channel and was carried by rowers in Canberra as well as by dragon boat in Hong Kong in 2008. It was first transported by airplane in 1952 when the flame travelled to Helsinki . In 1956, all carriers in the torch relay to Stockholm , where the equestrian events were held instead of in Melbourne, travelled on horseback. Remarkable means of transportation were used in 1976, when
3210-569: Is that Hephaestus split Zeus's head to allow Athena's birth, that story has also been told of Prometheus. A variant tradition makes Prometheus the son of Hera like Hephaestus. According to that version, the Giant Eurymedon raped Hera when she was young, and she had Prometheus. After Zeus married Hera, he threw Eurymedon into Tartarus and punished Prometheus in Caucasus, using the theft of fire as an excuse. Ancient artists depict Prometheus wearing
3317-461: Is the key to his religious significance and to the alignment with Athena and Hephaestus that was specific to Athens and its "unique degree of cultic emphasis" on honouring technology . The festival of Prometheus was the Prometheia (τὰ Προμήθεια). The wreaths worn symbolised the chains of Prometheus. There is a pattern of resemblances between Hephaestus and Prometheus. Although the classical tradition
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3424-496: The Protagoras as an important contributor to the early development of the Prometheus myth. Raggio indicates that many of the more challenging and dramatic assertions which Aeschylean tragedy explores are absent from Plato's writings about Prometheus. As summarised by Raggio, After the gods have moulded men and other living creatures with a mixture of clay and fire, the two brothers Epimetheus and Prometheus are called to complete
3531-830: The 1928 Summer Olympics , an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first symbolic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Olympic flame and the Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin by Carl Diem . The first ever torch-lighting ceremony was held in Olympia, Greece on July 20th, 1936. The torches used were made by Krupp , and
3638-450: The 2004 Summer Olympics . The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay spanned six continents before proceeding through China . However, there was protests against China's human rights record in London where a "ring of steel" was formed around the flame to protect it, but one protester managed to grab hold of the torch while it was being held by television presenter Konnie Huq . In Paris the torch
3745-640: The 2010 Winter Olympics , the future torch relays could be held only within the country hosting the Olympics after the initial Greek leg was finished. Although this rule took effect with the 2010 Winter Olympics , the organizers of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro chose to hold their torch relays only in their respective hosting countries of United Kingdom, Russia and Brazil (except for brief stops in
3852-574: The Archaic and Classical periods seems to have been limited. Writing in the 2nd century AD, the satirist Lucian points out that while temples for the major Olympians were everywhere, none for Prometheus is to be seen. Athens was the exception; here Prometheus was worshipped alongside Athena and Hephaestus . The altar of Prometheus in the grove of the Academy was the point of origin for several significant processions and other events regularly observed on
3959-568: The Athenian calendar . For the Panathenaic festival , arguably the most important civic festival at Athens, a torch race began at the altar, which was located outside the sacred boundary of the city, and passed through the Kerameikos , the district inhabited by potters and other artisans who regarded Prometheus and Hephaestus as patrons. The race then travelled to the heart of the city, where it kindled
4066-506: The Caucasus Mountains beyond which for the ancient Greeks lay the realm of the barbari . In another myth, Prometheus establishes the form of animal sacrifice practiced in ancient Greek religion . Evidence of a cult to Prometheus himself is not widespread. He was a focus of religious activity mainly at Athens , where he was linked to Athena and Hephaestus , who were the Greek deities of creative skills and technology. In
4173-512: The Graces and the Hours ( 59–76 ). After Prometheus steals the fire, Zeus sends Pandora in retaliation. Despite Prometheus' warning, Epimetheus accepts this "gift" from the gods ( 89 ). Pandora carried a jar with her from which were released mischief and sorrow, plague and diseases ( 94–100 ). Pandora shuts the lid of the jar too late to contain all the evil plights that escaped, but Hope is left trapped in
4280-513: The Olympic torch relay , which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Through 2022, the flame would continue to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it was extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony . In 2024 , electric lighting and mist were used to create a simulated flame for the Olympic cauldron, with
4387-742: The Special Olympics World Games are held. This brings about a special torch run called the Final Leg Run, during which, law enforcement, together with Special Olympic athletes, run the Flame of Hope throughout the host country for the games, spreading awareness for Special Olympics. This culminates with the lighting of the cauldron for the Flame of Hope at the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics World Games. Every year, members of
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4494-556: The Temple of Hera , during which a fire is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror . The fire is used to light the first torch of the Olympic Torch Relay. Where cloudy weather prevents the use of the parabolic mirror on the day of the ceremony (as in 2024), a backup flame is used that has been lit during a prior dress rehearsal. An actress plays the role of
4601-574: The Titanomachy , securing victory for Zeus and the other Olympians. Zeus' torture of Prometheus thus becomes a particularly harsh betrayal. The scope and character of Prometheus' transgressions against Zeus are also widened. In addition to giving humanity fire, Prometheus claims to have taught them the arts of civilisation, such as writing, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and science. The Titan's greatest benefaction for humanity seems to have been saving them from complete destruction. In an apparent twist on
4708-482: The Trinity ." This Neoplatonism of late Roman antiquity was especially stressed by Tertullian who recognised both difference and similarity of the biblical deity with the mythological figure of Prometheus. The imagery of Prometheus and the creation of man used for the purposes of the representation of the creation of Adam in biblical symbolism is also a recurrent theme in the artistic expression of late Roman antiquity. Of
4815-517: The Western classical tradition , Prometheus became a figure who represented human striving (particularly the quest for scientific knowledge) and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences . In particular, he was regarded in the Romantic era as embodying the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also result in tragedy: Mary Shelley , for instance, gave The Modern Prometheus as
4922-427: The agent suffix - eus , thus meaning "Forethinker". In his dialogue titled Protagoras , Plato contrasts Prometheus with his dull-witted brother Epimetheus , "Afterthinker". In Plato's dialogue Protagoras , Protagoras asserts that the gods created humans and all the other animals, but it was left to Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus to give defining attributes to each. As no physical traits were left when
5029-549: The titans in general, and like other titans, was punished for his opposition. As an advocate for humanity he gains semi-divine status at Athens, where the episode in Theogony in which he is liberated is interpreted by Casanova as a post-Hesiodic interpolation. According to the German classicist Karl-Martin Dietz , in Hesiod's scriptures, Prometheus represents the "descent of mankind from
5136-563: The 19th century and is still supported by some. The first recorded account of the Prometheus myth appeared in the late 8th-century BC Greek epic poet Hesiod 's Theogony ( 507–616 ). In that account, Prometheus was a son of the Titan Iapetus by Clymene or Asia , one of the Oceanids . He was brother to Menoetius , Atlas , and Epimetheus . Hesiod, in Theogony , introduces Prometheus as
5243-470: The 6th to 4th centuries BC. He also sometimes appears in depictions of Athena's birth from Zeus' forehead. There was a relief sculpture of Prometheus with Pandora on the base of Athena's cult statue in the Athenian Parthenon of the 5th century BC. A similar rendering is also found at the great altar of Zeus at Pergamon from the second century BC. The event of the release of Prometheus from captivity
5350-545: The Games. The first time that a symbolic flame made its appearance in the Summer Olympic Games was for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam . The main purpose of this fire, placed in a large bowl on top of a slender tower, named "the Marathon Tower", was to indicate for miles around where in Amsterdam the Olympic Games were being held. This tower was associated with the marathon race and all its elements, including
5457-535: The LETR converge at the International LETR conference to exchange ideas, and network about Special Olympics awareness and fundraising techniques. Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement . It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece , several months before the Olympic Games . This ceremony starts
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#17328691237065564-455: The New Testament narratives and the Greek mythological narratives remains at the limiting level of the cataclysmic eternal struggle of the eschatological New Testament narratives occurring only at the very end of the biblical narratives in the Apocalypse of John (12:7) where, "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there
5671-471: The Olympic Games in Mexico City . Perhaps one of the most spectacular of Olympic cauldron lighting ceremonies took place at the 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony , when Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo lit the cauldron by shooting a burning arrow over it, which ignited gas rising from the cauldron, although there are theories that the cauldron was manually forced to ignite. Two years later ,
5778-536: The Olympic fire was brought into the stadium of Lillehammer by a ski jumper . In Beijing 2008, Li Ning "ran" on air around the interior edge of the Beijing National Stadium 's roof, and lit a cauldron attached to it. The cauldron and the pedestal are always the subjects of unique and often dramatic design. These also tie in with how the cauldron is lit during the Opening Ceremony. After being lit,
5885-589: The Olympic flame above the Earth can be seen. Finland is the only country highlighted; it was the host of the 1952 games. Prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics , professor Bob Barney co-authored the book Selling the Five Rings (2002), with Stephen Wenn and Scott Martyn, which discussed the history of corporate sponsorships and television rights for the Olympic Games. Barney argued that the Olympic torch had been commercialized since its inception in 1936, and that sponsors of
5992-462: The Olympic flame to be accidentally or deliberately extinguished during the course of the torch relay (and on at least one occasion the cauldron itself has gone out during the Games). To guard against this eventuality, multiple copies of the flame are transported with the relay or maintained in backup locations. When a torch goes out, it is re-lit (or another torch is lit) from one of the backup sources. Thus,
6099-425: The Olympic torch relay, it is considered to be a great honor to light the Olympic cauldron, and in the same way it has become a tradition to select notable athletes to conduct this part of the ceremony. On other occasions, the people who lit the cauldron in the stadium are not famous but nevertheless symbolize Olympic ideals. Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai was born on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima . He
6206-710: The Titanomachy epic and the account of events in Hesiod; and that the Titanomachy may be the source of later variants of the Prometheus myth not found in Hesiod, notably the non-Hesiodic material found in the Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus . The two major authors to have an influence on the development of the myths and legends surrounding the Titan Prometheus during the Socratic era of greater Athens were Aeschylus and Plato . The two men wrote in highly distinctive forms of expression which for Aeschylus centered on his mastery of
6313-418: The UK and on the front of a London Underground train to Wimbledon. In 2004, the first global torch relay was undertaken, a journey that lasted 78 days. The Olympic flame covered a distance of more than 78,000 km in the hands of some 11,300 torchbearers, travelling to Africa and South America for the first time, visiting all previous and future Summer Olympic cities, and finally returning to Greece for
6420-421: The United States, Ireland and Switzerland respectively). In 2016, ten days before the beginning of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro , citizens of Angra dos Reis , a city near Rio de Janeiro , managed to extinguish the Olympic flame during a protest against the city spending money on hosting the Olympics despite an economic crisis in Brazil . The Olympic torch relay in the host country ends with
6527-426: The actual flame kept in a lantern exhibited at an adjacent location. That lantern was then taken by French swimmer Léon Marchand from Jardins des Tuileries (where the Olympic cauldron, that was extinguished at that moment, was located) and ceremonially "transferred" to the Stade de France at the start of the Closing Ceremony ; there it was finally extinguished just after the IOC president declared officially closed
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#17328691237066634-482: The author of the human arts and sciences. He is sometimes presented as the father of Deucalion , the hero of the flood story . The punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire from Olympus and giving it to humans is a subject of both ancient and modern culture . Zeus , king of the Olympian gods , condemned Prometheus to eternal torment for his transgression. Prometheus was bound to a rock, and an eagle—the emblem of Zeus—was sent to eat his liver (in ancient Greece,
6741-480: The birth of Athena , thus explaining how the goddess sprang forth from the forehead of Zeus. Other minor details attached to the myth include: the duration of Prometheus' torment; the origin of the eagle that ate the Titan's liver (found in Pseudo-Apollodorus and Hyginus); Pandora's marriage to Epimetheus (found in Pseudo-Apollodorus); myths surrounding the life of Prometheus' son, Deucalion (found in Ovid and Apollonius of Rhodes ); and Prometheus' marginal role in
6848-413: The communion with the gods into the present troublesome life". The Titanomachy is a lost epic of the cosmological struggle between the Greek gods and their parents, the Titans, and, in addition to the works of Hesiod , is a probable source of the Prometheus myth. Its reputed author was anciently supposed to have lived in the 8th century BC, but M. L. West has argued that it can't be earlier than
6955-404: The country hosting the Olympics and the national anthem of Greece along with the hoisting of the flags. After the ceremony at Olympia the Olympic flame first travels Greece. It first goes to the Coubertin Grove on the site of the International Olympic Academy , where it is used to light an altar beside the final resting place of Pierre de Coubertin 's heart. The flame is then transferred during
7062-672: The critical attention that has been applied to Aeschylus concerning his general philosophical import in Athens. As Bloom states, "Much critical attention has been paid to the question of theodicy in Aeschylus. For generations, scholars warred incessantly over 'the justice of Zeus,' unintentionally blurring it with a monotheism imported from Judeo-Christian thought. The playwright undoubtedly had religious concerns; for instance, Jacqueline de Romilly suggests that his treatment of time flows directly out of his belief in divine justice. But it would be an error to think of Aeschylus as sermonising. His Zeus does not arrive at decisions which he then enacts in
7169-400: The fire, were an idea of the architect Jan Wils who also had designed the stadium . The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia . In Ancient Greek mythology , fire had divine connotations and it was thought to have been stolen from
7276-412: The fires contained in the torches and Olympic cauldrons all trace a common lineage back to the same Olympia lighting ceremony. The design of 2004 had a safeguard built into it: There are two flames inside the torch. There is a highly visible (yellow flame) portion that burns cooler and is more prone to extinguish in wind and rain, but there is also a smaller hotter (blue in the candle's wick) flame akin to
7383-442: The first Olympic torch relay, the flame was transported from Olympia to Berlin over 3,187 kilometers (1,980 miles) by 3,331 runners in twelve days and eleven nights. Nazi Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels , commissioned filmmaker and propagandist, Leni Riefenstahl to film the event. In the 1956 Melbourne Games in Australia, local veterinary student Barry Larkin protested against the relay when he tricked onlookers by carrying
7490-407: The flame in the Olympic cauldron continues to burn during the Games, until the closing ceremony , when it is finally put out symbolizing the official end of the Games. The Olympic flame has been used as a symbol and a main motif numerous times in different commemorative coins. A recent example was the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games commemorative coin , minted in 2002. In the obverse,
7597-401: The flame was transformed to a radio signal and transmitted from Europe to the New World : Heat sensors in Athens detected the flame, the signal was sent to Ottawa via satellite where it was received and used to trigger a laser beam to re-light the flame. The torch, but not the flame, was taken into space by astronauts in 1996, 2000 and 2014. Other unique means of transportation include
7704-446: The flame, officers and athletes are referred to as "Guardians of the Flame". In the broader sense, the LETR is used to define all of the special events, and fundraising activities that law enforcement conducts to contribute to this campaign. This includes (but is not limited to), tip-a-cop events, car washes , Polar Plunges , roof sits, motorcycle runs , online fundraising, T-shirt and hat sales, media events, and more. Every two years,
7811-474: The four symbols of suffering associated with Jesus after his trial in Jerusalem (i) the crown of thorns, (ii) the scourge of whips, (iii) the nailing to the Cross, and (iv) the spearing of his side, it is only this last one which bears some resemblance to the eternal suffering of Prometheus' daily torment of an eagle devouring a replenishing organ, his liver, from his side. For Campbell, the striking contrast between
7918-405: The gods by Prometheus . Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia . Every four years, when Zeus was honoured at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera . The modern Olympic flame is ignited every two years in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera. When the idea of a symbolic fire was introduced during
8025-467: The gods" [...] "I sometimes wish that Freud had turned to Aeschylus instead, and given us the Prometheus complex rather than the Oedipus complex." Karl-Martin Dietz states that in contrast to Hesiod's, in Aeschylus' oeuvre, Prometheus stands for the "Ascent of humanity from primitive beginnings to the present level of civilisation." Olga Raggio , in her study "The Myth of Prometheus", attributes Plato in
8132-559: The hearts of men." Second, Aeschylus makes no mention of the sacrifice-trick played against Zeus in the Theogony . The four tragedies of Prometheus attributed to Aeschylus, most of which are lost to the passages of time into antiquity, are Prometheus Bound ( Prometheus Desmotes ), Prometheus Unbound ( Lyomenos ), Prometheus the Fire Bringer ( Pyrphoros ), and Prometheus the Fire Kindler ( Pyrkaeus ). The larger scope of Aeschylus as
8239-455: The imposition of his two fingers on her eyes recalling the same gesture found in earlier representations of Prometheus. In Georgian mythology, Amirani is a cultural hero who challenged the chief god and, like Prometheus, was chained on the Caucasian mountains where birds would eat his organs. This aspect of the myth had a significant influence on the Greek imagination. It is recognisable from
8346-477: The jar because Zeus forces Pandora to seal it up before Hope can escape ( 96–99 ). Casanova (1979), finds in Prometheus a reflection of an ancient, pre-Hesiodic trickster -figure, who served to account for the mixture of good and bad in human life, and whose fashioning of humanity from clay was an Eastern motif familiar in Enuma Elish . As an opponent of Zeus, the titan Prometheus can be seen as characteristic of
8453-449: The late 7th century BC. Presumably included in the Titanomachy is the story of Prometheus, himself a Titan, who managed to avoid being in the direct confrontational cosmic battle between Zeus and the other Olympians against Cronus and the other Titans (although there is no direct evidence of Prometheus' inclusion in the epic). M. L. West notes that surviving references suggest that there may have been significant differences between
8560-408: The lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony in the central host stadium of the Games. The final carrier is often kept unannounced until the last moment. Over the years, it has become a tradition to let a famous athlete of the host nation, former athletes or athletes with significant achievements and milestones be the last runner in the Olympic torch relay. It is not uncommon for
8667-448: The literary form of Greek tragedy, while for Plato this centered on the philosophical expression of his thought in the form of the various dialogues he wrote during his lifetime. Prometheus Bound , perhaps the most famous treatment of the myth to be found among the Greek tragedies , is traditionally attributed to the 5th-century BC Greek tragedian Aeschylus . At the centre of the drama are
8774-435: The liver was thought to be the seat of human emotions). His liver would then grow back overnight, only to be eaten again the next day in an ongoing cycle. According to several major versions of the myth, most notably that of Hesiod , Prometheus was eventually freed by the hero Heracles . In yet more symbolism, the struggle of Prometheus is located by some at Mount Elbrus or at Mount Kazbek , two volcanic promontories in
8881-402: The main stadium. During the opening ceremony the final bearer of the torch runs towards the cauldron, often placed at the top of a grand staircase, and then uses the torch to start the flame in the stadium. The climactic transfer of the Olympic flame from the final torch to the cauldron at the central host stadium marks the symbolic commencement of the Games. As with being the final runner of
8988-502: The mirror used to light the flame was made by Zeiss Optics , both companies with links to the Nazi government of the time. The Olympic flame is ignited some weeks or months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at the main site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece . A group of women representing the Vestal Virgins (usually 11 in number) perform a celebration at
9095-609: The mortal world; rather, human events are themselves an enactment of divine will." According to Thomas Rosenmeyer , regarding the religious import of Aeschylus, "In Aeschylus, as in Homer, the two levels of causation, the supernatural and the human, are co-existent and simultaneous, two ways of describing the same event." Rosenmeyer insists that ascribing portrayed characters in Aeschylus should not conclude them to be either victims or agents of theological or religious activity too quickly. As Rosenmeyer states: "[T]he text defines their being. For
9202-561: The myth of Jason and the Argonauts (found in Apollonius of Rhodes and Valerius Flaccus ). "Variants of legends containing the Prometheus motif are widespread in the Caucasus " region, reports Hunt, who gave ten stories related to Prometheus from ethno-linguistic groups in the region. Prometheus finally makes an appearance in Athenian playwright Aristophanes 's comedy The Birds , where he
9309-521: The myth of the so-called Five Ages of Man found in Hesiod's Works and Days (wherein Cronus and, later, Zeus created and destroyed five successive races of humanity), Prometheus asserts that Zeus had wanted to obliterate the human race, but that he somehow stopped him. Moreover, Aeschylus anachronistically and artificially injects Io , another victim of Zeus's violence and ancestor of Heracles, into Prometheus' story. Finally, just as Aeschylus gave Prometheus
9416-431: The pair came to humans, Prometheus decided to give them fire and other civilising arts. It is understandable that since Prometheus was considered a Titan (distinct from an Olympian) that there would be an absence of evidence, with the exception of Athens, for the direct religious devotion to his worship. Despite his importance to the myths and imaginative literature of ancient Greece, the religious cult of Prometheus during
9523-512: The pointed cap of an artist or artisan, like Hephaestus, and also the crafty hero Odysseus . The artisan's cap was also depicted as worn by the Cabeiri , supernatural craftsmen associated with a mystery cult known in Athens in classical times, and who were associated with both Hephaestus and Prometheus. Kerényi suggests that Hephaestus may in fact be the "successor" of Prometheus, despite Hephaestus being himself of archaic origin. Pausanias recorded
9630-639: The program helps define the brave participants of these programs as athletes, and not define them by their disabilities. Since its inception in 1981, LETR has raised $ 619,187,626. Similar in many ways to the Olympic Torch Relay , the Law Enforcement Torch Run consists of scheduled relay events, usually held in conjunction and coordination with Special Olympics functions (like the Special Olympics Summer and Winter Games). While carrying
9737-516: The relatively rare expressions found of the creation of Adam in those centuries of late Roman antiquity, one can single out the so-called "Dogma sarcophagus" of the Lateran Museum where three figures (commonly taken to represent the theological trinity) are seen in making a benediction to the new man. Another example is found where the prototype of Prometheus is also recognisable in the early Christian era of late Roman antiquity. This can be found upon
9844-458: The results of Prometheus' theft of fire and his current punishment by Zeus . The playwright's dependence on the Hesiodic source material is clear, though Prometheus Bound also includes a number of changes to the received tradition. It has been suggested by M.L. West that these changes may derive from the now lost epic Titanomachy . Before his theft of fire, Prometheus played a decisive role in
9951-531: The sacrificial fire on the altar of Athena on the Acropolis to conclude the festival. These footraces took the form of relays in which teams of runners passed off a flaming torch. According to Pausanias (2nd century AD), the torch relay, called lampadedromia or lampadephoria , was first instituted at Athens in honour of Prometheus. By the Classical period, the races were run by ephebes also in honour of Hephaestus and Athena. Prometheus' association with fire
10058-560: The same name, while the name "Prometheus" is descriptive. It has also been theorised that it derives from the Proto-Indo-European root that also produces the Vedic pra math , "to steal", hence pramathyu-s , "thief", cognate with "Prometheus", the thief of fire. The Vedic myth of fire's theft by Mātariśvan is an analogue to the Greek account. Pramant was the fire-drill, the tool used to create fire. The suggestion that Prometheus
10165-563: The subtitle to her novel Frankenstein (1818). The etymology of the theonym prometheus is debated. The usual view is that it signifies "forethought", as that of his brother Epimetheus denotes "afterthought". Hesychius of Alexandria gives Prometheus the variant name of Ithas, and adds "whom others call Ithax", and describes him as the Herald of the Titans. Kerényi remarks that these names are "not transparent", and may be different readings of
10272-443: The sustained suffering of Job in comparison to that of eternal suffering and torment represented in the Prometheus myth. With Job, the suffering is at the acquiescence of heaven and at the will of the demonic, while in Prometheus the suffering is directly linked to Zeus as the ruler of Olympus. The comparison of the suffering of Jesus after his sentencing in Jerusalem is limited to the three days, from Thursday to Saturday, and leading to
10379-493: The task and distribute among the newly born creatures all sorts of natural qualities. Epimetheus sets to work but, being unwise, distributes all the gifts of nature among the animals, leaving men naked and unprotected, unable to defend themselves and to survive in a hostile world. Prometheus then steals the fire of creative power from the workshop of Athena and Hephaistos and gives it to mankind. Raggio then goes on to point out Plato's distinction of creative power ( techne ), which
10486-403: The temple's high priestess and presents the torch and an olive branch to the first relay bearer, usually a Greek athlete who has already qualified to compete in that edition of the Games. This is followed by a recitation of a poem by Pindar , and the release of a flock of doves to symbolize peace. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Olympic hymn is sung first followed by the national anthem of
10593-457: The torch relay benefit from brand awareness; whereas the medal podium ceremonies which began in 1932, had not become commercialized since no advertising is allowed inside Olympic venues. Prometheus In Greek mythology , Prometheus ( / p r ə ˈ m iː θ i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Προμηθεύς , [promɛːtʰéu̯s] , possibly meaning " forethought ") is one of the Titans and
10700-508: The world. Some other aspects of the story resemble the Sumerian myth of Enki (or Ea in later Babylonian mythology), who was also a bringer of civilization who protected humanity against the other gods, including during the great flood, as well as created man from clay. While the theory lost favour in the 20th century that Prometheus descends from the Vedic fire bringer Mātariśvan , it was suggested in
10807-776: Was chosen for the role to symbolize Japan's postwar reconstruction and peace, opening the 1964 Tokyo Games . At the 1976 Games in Montreal , two teenagers — one from the French-speaking part of the country, one from the English-speaking part — symbolized the unity of Canada . At the 2012 Games in London , the torch was carried by Sir Steve Redgrave to a group of seven young British athletes (Callum Airlie, Jordan Duckitt, Desiree Henry , Katie Kirk, Cameron MacRitchie, Aidan Reynolds and Adelle Tracey ) — each nominated by
10914-581: Was extinguished at least twice by Chinese officials (five times according to French police ) so that it could be transported in a bus amid protests while it was being paraded through Paris. This eventually led to the cancellation of the relay's last leg in the city. Demonstrations were also held in San Francisco and the route the torch would take was cut in half. As a result, in 2009, the International Olympic Committee announced that from
11021-464: Was frequently revisited on Attic and Etruscan vases between the sixth and fifth centuries BC. In the depiction on display at the Museum of Karlsruhe and in Berlin , the depiction is that of Prometheus confronted by a menacing large bird (assumed to be the eagle) with Heracles approaching from behind shooting his arrows at it. In the fourth century this imagery was modified to depicting Prometheus bound in
11128-479: Was in origin the human "inventor of the fire-sticks, from which fire is kindled" goes back to Diodorus Siculus in the first century BC. The reference is again to the "fire-drill", a worldwide primitive method of fire making using a vertical and a horizontal piece of wood to produce fire by friction. The oldest record of Prometheus is in Hesiod , but stories of theft of fire by a trickster figure are widespread around
11235-464: Was no longer any place for them in heaven." This eschatological and apocalyptic setting of a Last Judgement is in precise contrast to the Titanomachia of Hesiod which serves its distinct service to Greek mythology as its Prolegomenon , bracketing all subsequent mythology, including the creation of humanity, as coming after the cosmological struggle between the Titans and the Olympian gods. It remains
11342-656: Was punished by Zeus, who bound him with chains and sent an eagle to eat Prometheus' immortal liver every day, which then grew back every night. Years later, the Greek hero Heracles , with Zeus' permission, killed the eagle and freed Prometheus from this torment ( 521–529 ). Hesiod revisits the story of Prometheus and the theft of fire in Works and Days ( 42–105 ). In it the poet expands upon Zeus's reaction to Prometheus' deception. Not only does Zeus withhold fire from humanity, but "the means of life" as well ( 42 ). Had Prometheus not provoked Zeus's wrath, "you would easily do work enough in
11449-523: Was the central role of Prometheus in the creation of the human race. According to these sources, Prometheus fashioned humans out of clay. Although perhaps made explicit in the Prometheia , later authors such as Hyginus , the Bibliotheca , and Quintus of Smyrna would confirm that Prometheus warned Zeus not to marry the sea nymph Thetis . She is consequently married off to the mortal Peleus , and bears him
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