Olympic flame Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greece, 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 — it was thought to have been stolen from 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
Ancient Olympic pentathlon Ancient Olympic pentathlon The Ancient Olympic pentathlon () was an athletic contest at the Ancient Olympic Games, and other Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. The name derives from Greek, combining the words "pente" (five) and "athlon" (competition). Five events were contested over one day, starting with the "stadion" (a short foot race) followed by the Javelin throw, Discus throw, Long jump (the order of these three events is still unclear), and ending with wrestling. While Pentathletes were considered to be inferior to the specialized athletes in a certain event, they were superior in overall development and were some of the