The flame destined to burn at the upcoming Paris Olympics was ignited on Tuesday at the historic site of the ancient games in southern Greece. Due to overcast skies, a backup flame was used instead of the traditional lighting method involving a priestess and a sunlit torch. The flame was kindled during the final rehearsal the day before.
Typically, a priestess dressed in ancient Greek attire offers a prayer to Apollo, the sun god, before using a parabolic mirror to ignite the torch. However, this time the backup flame, stored in a replica of an ancient Greek pot, was used directly.
