Five months before the start of the Athens 2004 Games high priestess Thalia Prokopiou, a Greek actress, lit the Olympic flame amidst tight security.
As the torch burst into flame she uttered the words, “Apollo, sun god and god of the idea of light, send us your rays to light the torch for Athens”.
She then carried the torch to Greek javelin champion Costas Gatzioudis, who was the first torch bearer in an unprecedented global relay that for the first time will take in the five continents represented by the Olympic rings.
The successful lighting took place in front of a temple dedicated to the goddess Hera who was worshipped during the ancient Games.
There was unprecedented security at Olympia for the lighting of the Olympic flame. Bomb squads, sniffer dogs and police marksmen mingled among the crowd of 10,000. All vehicles, except for security forces, were banned within a three-kilometre radius of the ceremony.
