Torch and sandals: What to know about the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece for the Paris Olympics

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — A priestess prays to a dead sun god in front of a fallen Greek temple. If the sky is clear, a flame spurts that will burn in Paris throughout the world’s top sporting event. Speeches ensue.

On Tuesday, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony.

It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896.

Here’s a look at the workings and meaning of the elaborate ceremony held among the ruins of Ancient Olympia ahead of each modern Olympiad.

Couldn't the Academy Awards just be announced in a conference call?

The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It's meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled.

Once it's been carried by any means imaginable to the host city — it's been beamed down by satellite, lugged up Mount Everest and towed underwater — the flame kindles a cauldron that burns in the host Olympic stadium until the end of the games. Then it's used for the Paralympics.

An actor playing an ancient Greek priestess holds a silver torch containing highly combustible materials over a concave mirror. The sun's rays bounce off every inch of the burnished metal half-globe and come together at one extremely hot point, which ignites the torch.

This happens inside the archaeological site at Olympia, before the ancient temple of Hera — wife of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, whose own ruined temple lies close by.

The flame is eventually used to light the first runner's torch — champagne-colored this year for France — and a long relay through Greece leads to the April 26 handover at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.

Flames and sandals make for an impressive spectacle, and while the priestess' largely tongue-in-cheek prayer to Apollo might not be answered, the parabolic mirror works well.

The idea was the result of Greek-German cooperation ahead of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, which were heavy on fanfare — and swastikas. It was based on a mechanism mentioned by ancient writers in a non-Olympic context, and served the desire to blend the games of antiquity with the modern revival.

The 1936 innovations included a torch relay all the way to Berlin, and have been followed, with modifications, ever since. An initial idea to do the relay flame in hollow plant stalks — a nod to the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods — was ditched as impractical.

No. But then modern athletes don't compete naked, or, when victorious, receive olive wreaths and the right to a marble statue in their name — and, for three-times winners, in their actual likeness.

Also, there's no brief cessation of warfare to allow the modern games to go ahead, women not only attend but compete as well, and rich sponsors — or heads of state — don't reap the glory for their chariot teams' wins.

According to ancient Greek tradition, the games of antiquity, held every four years in honor of Zeus, started in 776 B.C. They were the most important of the major Greek sporting festivals, where events included running, wrestling and horse racing. Up to 40,000 spectators could attend.

Like in most preindustrial societies, life in ancient Greece was deeply physical and a well-exercised body was seen as the mark of a gentleman.

The games continued, with minor blips, until the new Christian authorities in Greece banned them as part of the reprehensible pagan past, in A.D. 393.

Rain. Heavy cloud cover. Then the mirror doesn't work. But ceremony organizers in Olympia hold several rehearsals in the days leading up to the official lighting, which provide a backup flame should the big day prove sunless. That's what ended up happening on Tuesday, when the skies were cloudy.

Potential protests are a worse headache. Twice this century — during the lighting ceremonies for the Beijing Summer and Winter Games — human-rights activists disrupted the ceremony inside the fenced and heavily guarded archaeological site. Even after the embarrassment of the first incident in 2008, Greek police were unable to anticipate and prevent the second, 14 years later. There was no incident Tuesday.

The flame-lighting, with its broad TV coverage — although the official stream shies from showing any form of protest — is a magnet for activists who want to grab headlines. And even if ancient Olympia can, in theory at least, be efficiently guarded, the route of the torch relay through Greece is too long to be protest-proof.

The 2008 incidents at Olympia and abroad led to the scrapping of torch relays outside Greece and the host country.

Further along the road, while the torches are designed to stay lit, there have been hitches in the past. During the relay for the 2014 Sochi Games, wind blew out the torch, which was sneakily rekindled with a lighter. The same quick fix was used at Montreal in 1976, when rain extinguished the Olympic cauldron.

Follow AP’s coverage of Paris Olympics preparations at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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FILE - The Olympic flame is carried by a torch bearer from the Olympiastadion in Berlin en route to the stadium in Gruenau, Germany for the opening of the Olympic Rowing and Canoeing events on the Regatta course, Aug. 1, 1936. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Villagers in Strefi, Greece, cheer a runner carrying the Olympic flame in the relay from Olympia to Pyrgos, July 20, 1948. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - An arrow carrying the Olympic flame leaves the bow of Antonio Rebollo to light the Olympic Torch and open the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona, July 25, 1992. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File)

FILE - Wendy Craig Duncan carries the olympic flame underwater at Agincourt reef, Queensland, Australia June 27, 2000. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Steve Nutt, File)

FILE - American swimmer Janet Evans, right, looks on as Muhammad Ali lights the Olympic flame during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony in Atlanta, July 19, 1996. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FILE - Nine times Olympic gold medal winner Carl Lewis of the United States poses for the photographers in front of the Olympic flame in front of the columns of the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill, Aug. 12, 2004. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE -The first torch bearer, Greek gymnast Eleftherios Petrounias runs with the torch after the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, Greece, on April 21, 2016. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, center, playing the role of the High Priestess, lights the torch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, held by Greek shooting Olympic champion Anna Korakaki, left, the first torchbearer, during the flame lighting ceremony at the closed Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece, March 12, 2020. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis, File)

FILE - Police officers run to detain protesters displaying a Tibetan flag and a banner disrupting the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Oct. 18, 2021. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of the High Priestess, prays to the ancient God Apollo during the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Oct. 18, 2021. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

FILE - An official places a cover over the cauldron to protect it from rain before the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, southwestern Greece, Oct. 24, 2017. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

FILE - A Greek actress dressed as an ancient priestess, right, holds the Olympic flame during a dress rehearsal for Monday's flame-lighting ceremony, in this stadium of Ancient Olympia, March 23, 2008, where the ancient Olympics were born in 776 B.C. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

FILE - Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, playing the role of a high priestess, holds up the Olympic flame lit with a concave mirror near the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia, March 24, 2008 where the Olympics were born in 776 B.C. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

FILE - Actress Katerina Lehou, right, as high priestess, lights the torch during the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, southwestern Greece, Oct. 24, 2017. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of the High Priestess, lights the torch during the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece Oct. 18, 2021. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit and be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens site of the first modern Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

BEIRUT (AP) — Leaked photographs of the son of Libya’s late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements.

The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Gadhafi’s belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. “I live in misery,” local Al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about.

Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the photographs aired by Al-Jadeed are of Gadhafi and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Gadhafi appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses.

A person who is usually in contact with Gadhafi, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets.

Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978.

The fate of al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead.

A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of al-Sadr and the release of Gadhafi. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned.

The leaks by Al-Jadeed came after reports that Gadhafi was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. Al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: “Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom.”

Gadhafi went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated.

Libya’s Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Gadhafi is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that “preserves his dignity," adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Gadhafi deserves to be released.

After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about al-Sadr’s disappearance.

Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Many of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Gadhafi’s release. The rights group noted that Gadhafi was only 2 years old at the time of al-Sadr’s disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.

FILE - In this undated file photo made available Sept. 25, 2011, Hannibal Gadhafi, son of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya. Leaked photographs of Hannibal Gadhafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns. Libyan authorities are demanding that Lebanon improves living conditions for Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany, File)