In 2004 the Olympic Games return to the place where they were born, where they were revived and where they will be renewed. The ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games are more than an opportunity to participate in the greatest celebration of humanity. They are an opportunity to be part of a story that is as old as history itself. And when it comes to making history, there is really no place like home.

Olympic Torch

The emblem of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games is a circular wreath made of a branch from an olive tree. The Olive tree is one of the most powerful symbols of Greece. It has been a sacred tree for Mediterranean nations for thousands of years, as well as the ancient symbol of the Athenian City State. It has left an indelible mark in Greece’s mythology and art. The olive branch is also a global symbol of peace and freedom.

What other symbol better captures the ideals of Olympism and the long relationship between the Olympic Games and Greece?

An olive leaf served as the inspiration for the first Olympic torch that will travel to all five continents, carrying the message of peace for the Olympic Games of 2004. The ATHENS 2004 Olympic torch is designed to resemble an olive leaf. Its form was drawn from the leaf’s lines and its harmonious shape. Weighing 700 gr. and standing at 68 cm, the Torch’s design was selected to enhance the Flame, the major emblem of the Games.

License Agreement

According to a “Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding” signed by the Athens News Agency (ANA) and the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee (ATHOC) that is based on legislation and legal provisions governing copyright and intellectual property, we would like to inform you of the following:

Photographs available on the Internet site www.greecetaxi.gr and under the category “Olympics 2004 – photographs” can be used freely by daily, weekly, bi-monthly or monthly publications, but only to promote the Games and, in general, the Olympic Movement and Ideals. Under no circumstances are photos to be exploited for commercial use and gain beyond their publication in a said periodical without the expressed and written permission of the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee, and always under the inviolable condition that the source of the material be listed as: ATHOC/ANA (or, GreeceTaxi acronym) / “photo-reporter’s name”. All of the aforementioned information is included in the image’s File Info and clearly discernible.
In reference specifically to news agencies, the latter are allowed to use the aforementioned material in their daily photo service under the condition that they offer these photos and images free to all their clients. Any type of storage or filing of these photos in computer databases or archives, electronic or otherwise, is strictly forbidden. Potential needs in terms of photo archives are already covered by the Internet site www.greecetaxi.gr
Alternation or any other modification of a photograph’s images, as well as the addition of any other logo/source except the aforementioned ATHOC/ANA (or GreeceTaxi) / “photo-reporter’s name”, is also strictly prohibited.

News and press agencies also commit to ensuring that their clients fulfill the terms concerning the source of the material and the stated prohibition against commercial exploitation and use, beyond the publication in a said periodical (daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly). Additionally, all of the aforesaid provisions cover the material already disseminated via this ANA service. The same terms and conditions apply to material of third parties that are distributed and disseminated by the ANA (purchased by the ANA or offered gratis by the ANA) with the intent of relaying and offering it via the Internet site: www.greecetaxi.gr/index/Olympic Torch Photographs.

Torch Relays
The torch relay started out as a religious ritual, but later on became a race or contest of minor importance for young men, teenagers, and boys, held by night. Later, it became one of the most popular team events. There were torch relays in various different regions of Greece – Delphi, Samos, Thrace, Epidavros, Attica. They mostly dedicated to Hephaestus, Artemis, Athena and Prometheus. The torch, the Flame, and all the other historic, festive and symbolic trappings, were introduced in 1896, in Greece, as part of the cultural programmed for the Olympic Games. The 1896 Torch Relay was held on the seventh day of the Games, on Athena's Street, at nine in the evening, accompanied by music. The people taking part in the event were of all ages and callings: riders, public security forces, university students, schoolchildren and representatives of professional associations. Both the ceremony of the Lighting of the Olympic flame and the torch relay were established at Berlin, in 1936.

The Lighting of the Olympic flame

The Lighting of the Olympic flame takes place inside the Sanctuary of Olympia. The fire is lighted from the sun’s rays focused on a concave metal mirror. The High Priestess hands the flame to the first torchbearer by the de Coubertin monument.

There was no torch relay before the ancient Olympic Games, but, however, an altar to the goddess Hestia existed, with a sacred flame kindled by sunrays. Maria Hors, a leading figure in Greek dance theatre, has been responsible for the lighting ceremony, for the past forty years.

Sacred flame unites the world
Athens 2004 organizers announce global Olympic torch relay reaching for the first time all five continents. The sacred flame of the Olympic Games will travel far wider than ever before next year, following a route through 27 countries and 34 cities before it lights the cauldron at the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens on August 13. Traveling at an average rate of 48km per day, the flame will be carried by over 3,600 torchbearers, while planes, ships, cars, bicycles and even wheelchairs will be enlisted in a journey passing, for the first time, through all former Summer Olympic host cities and all land mass represented by the rings of the Olympic Games logo - The Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The torch relay was originally introduced before the Berlin Olympics in 1936 under the direction of Nazi-sponsored Olympic official Carl Diem. Next year's torch relay will cover a distance of more than 77,000 km crossing through 37 time zones, including Istanbul and Cape Town. It is expected to be watched by 260 million people as it promotes the message of "the flame that unites the world."
"The ancient and modern symbolisms of the flame - the values of peace, truce, security, brotherhood, cooperation - are more relevant today than ever," Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, head of the Athens Organizing Committee, said during the torch relay route announcement ceremony on November 26.

Ancient setting, double meaning.
Lovers of antiquity couldn’t ask for a more ideal setting for the torch lighting ceremony scheduled on March 25: at the original site of the games in ancient Olympia , southwestern Greece, and according to the modern-day ritual, young women clad as Zeus priestesses will summon the divine light of Apollo while the torch is lit from reflected rays of sunlight in a concave mirror. Carrying a double meaning for Greeks, the date of the torch lighting ceremony marks the start of the first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens as well as the outbreak of the Greek Independence War in 1821 which led to the birth of the modern Greek state six years later. Indeed, authorities are considering a proposal to push the annual celebrations – school and military parades – marking the revolution, to March 26.
As to the Olympic flame, it will burn outside the all-marble Athens Kallimarmaron stadium , the site of first modern Olympics, on March 31 after first having traveled to the ancient Greek temple of Aphaia on the island of Aegina off the coast of Attica. It will remain there until it begins its journey to the farthest reaches of the globe on June 4. Australian Olympic Gold medalist Kathy Freeman will be the first non-Greek to carry the torch when it arrives at its first port of call in Sydney on June 4. The 400-metre gold medalist lit the cauldron at the Sydney opening ceremony in 2000. Stressing the relay’s global significance, Angelopoulos said it belongs to all cultures. “This torch relay is the torch relay of all cultures,” she said on November 26. Each torchbearer will run 400 meters as the relay will move at a pace of 60km per day over a five-month period. 2,500km of the journey will be made on foot. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge is scheduled to also carry the flame on the leg past the IOC building in Lausanne, Switzerland. “I hope at my age I will be able to run 400 meters. It will be a great achievement,” Rogge said.
Give peace a chance
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou , a fervent international campaigner for world peace during the Games said the relay is a chance to spread the message of peace across the world through the Olympic Truce . “In our times, sports cannot impose peace. But it can inspire it,” Papandreou said.
“If we can achieve peace for 16 days, perhaps one day we can achieve it forever,” he added. “We ask from everyone to become ambassadors of the Olympic truce.” It is reminded that the Ancient Greek tradition stipulated a cessation of war during the Games.
Back to the torch, the flame will round off its trip in Nicosia, Cyprus on July 9, before returning to Greece, where it will travel to 174 cities and villages. Its itinerary will also include 24 monuments of historical importance and as many islands as possible. Daskalaki said destinations on the Greek leg of the trip were chosen on the basis of their historical and cultural identity, geographic location, hotel infrastructure and the interest they hold as tourist attractions. “Through the relay we can all become the torchbearers of the Olympic truce,” Papandreou underlined.