2000 Summer Olympics cauldron his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited at the site where the temple of Hera used to stand. The Olympic Torch today is ignited several months before the opening celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Eleven women, representing the Vestal Virgins, perform a ceremony in which the torch is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror. In contrast to the Olympic flame proper, the torch relay of modern times, which transports the flame from Greece to the
2011 Pan American Games torch relay 2011, at the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City. The Pan American flame was lit in the Pyramid of the Sun, the spot selected by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The relay was organized by the Mexican Olympic Committee and was sponsored by Grupo Omnilife, a nutrition company. The first torch was carried by Pan American Games gold medalist Paola Longoria. The relay began with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the 2011 Monterrey casino attack. About 3,500 runners carried the torch on the 15,000-kilometer route. The torch arrived in Puerto Vallarta on October 9,