holy fire

Fire is an important source of human civilization and a sacred object in the hearts of our ancestors. As an important part of the sports meeting, the torch has a history of more than 2700 years. Legend has it that Mount Olympia in ancient Greece was the habitat of the gods. In memory of Prometheus, the fire god who stole fire for mankind, the local people hold a sacrificial ceremony in front of the altar every four years.

The lighting ceremony of the ancient Olympic Games originated from the myth that humans stole the flame from the sky in ancient Greece. In front of Zeus in Olympia, the sacred flame was lit on the altar according to religious ceremonies, and then the torch was taken to various city-states to convey the message that the Olympic Games were about to begin. All city-states must stop fighting, forget hatred and war, and actively prepare for the Olympic Games. Therefore, the torch symbolizes peace, light, unity and friendship.

According to the tradition of the Olympic Games, the torch should arrive in the host city the day before the opening ceremony and be lit on the opening day. The torch must abide by the Olympic ceremony during the journey or in the celebration of its arrival in the host city, and shall not be used for advertising. However, with the help of the Olympic torch, the host country often arranges representative and distinctive figures, such as Olympic gold medal winners who win glory for their country, hold the torch high in front of enthusiastic and appreciative audiences, and then run to the torch platform to light the flame after a round trip.

The flame must be located in an obvious position in the general assembly field and have a good view. It is best to see the flames outside the conference hall. During the Olympic Games, the flame cannot be extinguished. When the flame goes out, the Olympic Games is officially over.

Prometheus

In Greek mythology, human beings were created by Prometheus. He also served as a teacher of human beings, teaching them everything that is useful to people and can make them satisfied and happy. Similarly, people thanked him and rewarded him with love and loyalty. But Zeus, the highest god, asked human beings to worship him, so human beings must give him the best things. Prometheus offended Zeus, the defender of mankind.

As his punishment, Zeus refused to give people the last thing they needed to complete their civilization-fire. But Prometheus thought of a way to steal the fire with a long fennel branch and bring it to mankind when the burning sun car passed by.

So Zeus was furious. He sent someone to take Prometheus to Caucasus Mountain and tied him to a steep cliff with a chain that never stopped making money, so that he could never sleep and his tired knees could not bend. A diamond nail was nailed to his undulating chest. He endured hunger, wind and sun. In addition, Zeus sent an eagle to peck Prometheus' liver every day, but the eaten liver grew back. In this way, day after day, year after year. Until a hero named Herakles saved him, he endured this indescribable pain and suffering.

Now we often compare Prometheus to a man who would rather sacrifice himself.

1936, an exciting torch relay ceremony was held for the first time in Olympic history. The torch passed through seven countries, namely Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany, with a total distance of 3,050 kilometers, and * * * 33 1 person participated in the torch relay. All the cities through which the torch passed held grand welcoming ceremonies and set up special altars to light the torch. This massive torch relay was a great success, which not only aroused the enthusiasm of the whole world for the Olympics and spread the Olympic spirit, but also set an example for the subsequent Olympic Games.

The flame originated from ancient Greek myths and legends. According to legend, Prometheus, the ancient Greek god, stole fire from Zeus and brought it to the world to save the hungry and cold mankind. In ancient Greece, before every Olympic Games, people would light the flame in front of the temple of Hera. After the founding of the modern Olympic Games, this tradition was not followed at first. Until the 7th Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920, in order to mourn the people who died in World War I, the organizers lit the torch symbolizing peace in the main venue, but neither the torch relay nor the fire was collected from ancient Olympia. 1934, the International Olympic Committee decided that during the Olympic Games, from the opening to the closing, the Olympic flame must be burned in the main venue, and the flame must be collected from Olympia, the ancient Olympic site in Greece, and transmitted to the host city by torch relay. Since then, the torch relay has become an essential ceremony for every Olympic Games.

Prometheus is one of the titans. In the war between Zeus and the giant, he sided with the new Olympus God. He made the first man from clay. Athena endowed this man with soul and sacred life. Prometheus also spent a lot of time and energy to create fire and gave it to mankind. Fire makes man the spirit of all things. After that, the first joint meeting of God and Man was held. This meeting will decide which part of roasted animals should be given to God and which part should be given to human beings. Prometheus cut a cow and divided it into two parts: he put the meat under the skin and the bone under the fat. Because he knew that selfish Zeus loved to eat fat. Zeus saw through his trick. Prometheus favored human beings, which made Zeus very unhappy. Therefore, he arbitrarily took fire away from human beings. However, Prometheus managed to steal the skyfire and secretly brought it to mankind. Zeus was very angry at his reckless disobedience. He asked other mountain gods to lock Prometheus on a rock in Caucasus Mountain. A hungry eagle pecks at his liver every day, and his liver always grows back. His pain will last for 30 thousand years And he resolutely faced suffering and never lost courage in front of Zeus. Finally, Hercules restored the friendship between Prometheus and Zeus, found the golden apple and killed the eagle, thus saving the old friend of mankind.

Athena (goddess of wisdom and skill)

Athena's name is abbreviated from Athena and Athanaia in Greece. It is written as Athene and Athenaee in Ionian dialect (this name can be seen on the relief map of the besieged city of Troy), Athena and Athenaea in Dorian dialect and Athenaea in Eolia dialect. (We can also see another way to write her name in a painting of Odysseus' home by French painter bouguereau: Athhnh. This word has no etymological explanation in Greek. Since Athena's name is the same as that of Athens, people have been debating whether the goddess is named after the city or the city is named after the goddess since ancient times.

In Greek place names, many city names end with -ene, such as Mykene, which means -ene is a typical place name suffix. But Athena has a nickname called Pallas Athene, which is often called Athena 1 in Homer's epic. This shows that the goddess originally had a name pallas. Later, with the development of Athenian worship, she was called Pallas Athena, which means "pallas of Athens". Later, Athena could be the name of the goddess alone. So finding out the meaning of pallas is the key to finding out the origin of Athena. Unfortunately, people have not understood the meaning of this word. Some people interpret it as a "girl", while others interpret it as a "sword dance". However, due to its shortcomings, it can not be universally recognized, and can only be regarded as a possibility, not as a conclusion. So we must go to the myth to find the origin of Athena.

Athena is widely worshipped in the Greek world centered on Athens. This city has a typical symbol of Greek religious art-the Parthenon. This name means a girl's apartment, which is the residence of the goddess maid. But Athena has been an important god since ancient times. Her name has appeared on the linear letter B, and there are a lot of fairy tale descriptions that retain the elements of ancient legends. Athena is also called "mistress" on Mycenae slate.

According to Pilaski's records, the goddess Athena was born on Lake Nice in Tritto. Three Libyan fairies found her, so they dressed her in goatskin clothes and took care of her growing up. When she was a little girl, she accidentally killed her little friend pallas in a play. In order to express her condolences, she put pallas's name before her own. She later came to Athens via Crete. (See apollonius)

Because this material is recorded according to the legends of ancient people, the Pilaski people made many scholars associate the origin of Athena with the Libyan goddess. There are several indirect materials for this view:

"It seems that the clothes worn by Athena and the Eggerz jacket were learned by the Greeks from Libyan women. Because except Libyan women's clothes are made of leather, the ears of goatskin jackets are not snakes but grass buttons, and the clothes everywhere are the same. The name itself proves that the clothes of the statue of Pallas Athena came from Libya. ..... "(Herodotus" History ")

"The law adjacent to Egypt is Essex; There is a Triton River between them and the Marcos, and they live on the shore of Trionis. ..... They hold a blessing ceremony for Athena once a year. During the blessing ceremony, their girls divided into two teams and fought each other with stones and sticks. According to them, this is to worship the monotonous goddess Athena in the way of their ancestors. " (Herodotus "History")

The discovery of Greek archaeology shows that Libyan immigrants have entered Crete as early as 4000 BC, and the historical records are basically consistent with archaeological discoveries.

So what kind of God is pallas? Greek mythology is very inconsistent, but the most common one is that Athena was born by Zeus and raised by Tritton, the river god. Pallas, the daughter of Tritton and Athena's playmate, was killed by Athena by mistake. But some people say that pallas is one of the Titan gods-the son of Eurybia and Cross, or the father of the moon goddess, and so on. However, in 1885, the Ancient City-State written by Fustelde Coulanges also mentioned: "Whenever a warship goes out to sea, the monument of pallas must be painted gold." So it seems that Athena is related to Poseidon. On the whole, however, there are different opinions, which shows that after the Libyan goddess was introduced into Greece, she came into contact with pallas worshipped by Greek aborigines, which led to different opinions.

When Athena was Hellenized and became the object of worship of many city-States, the work of describing the orthodox and sacred origin of this goddess began. The following is a story about the birth of Athena:

"Now, Zeus, the king of the gods, first married Metis, the smartest man among the gods and mortals. When she was about to give birth to Athena, the goddess of bright eyes, Zeus cheated Medes and swallowed her up according to the advice of Uranus and Gaia. ..... because he was afraid that she might give birth to a child with a weapon more powerful than thunderbolt. ..... But Metis immediately became pregnant with Pallas Athena, and the father of mankind and gods gave birth to this daughter with his own thoughts on the Toliton River. ..... Athena accepted the protection of Zeus in that place, and with it, her strength surpassed that of a god living on Mount Olympus. When Zeus gave birth to Athena, she was armed with aegis and full-body weapons. "

In this way, through the story of Athena's "rebirth" from Zeus' heart, she had a noble birth and became a member of the sacred family. Although this story about the birth of Athena is not unique, it is considered by the ancients to be the most accurate because it is believed to be told by Athena's priests.

There is such a record in Shenpu:

"... they suggested Zeus to do this in order to prevent other gods from taking the place of Zeus in the eternal god; Because Metis is destined to have several extremely clever children. The first one is Tritognia (Athena), a girl with bright eyes, who is equal to her father in strength and wisdom. But after that, Metis will give birth to a proud son and become the king of the gods and mankind. However, Zeus swallowed her first, so that the goddess could guide him and get good luck. ..... Metis, the mother of Athena, the planner of justice, smarter than gods and mortals, stayed in Zeus' belly. Athena, the goddess, accepted SHIELD in that place. With it, her power surpassed all the gods living in Olympus. 【 This aegis became Athena's terrible weapon. When Zeus gave birth to Athena, she held a aegis. From this description, we seem to see some symbols of the historical evolution of ancient Greece. Zeus represented the religious belief of achaean, and achaean was the ancestor of the real Greeks. They created Mycenae civilization and later Crete civilization, and moved to Greece around 2000 BC, while Metis symbolized the spiritual belief of the original Greek aborigines. Taking Metis as a goddess of wisdom may represent that the Greek civilization at that time was better than the later immigrant civilization. When Zeus swallowed her, it was the fusion of different religions and civilizations of aborigines, immigrants from achaean and West Asia, thus forming a new Greek classical civilization system-"Athena"-of course, this word is only a metaphor, and the symbol of Greek orthodox religion is still Zeus, not Athena, because she is not the "son" in "prophecy", so she did not really replace Zeus in the end. This somewhat represents the submission of the conquered people at that time; However, although Metis was swallowed, she remained in Zeus' stomach, which symbolizes that these peoples still retain their own traditions to some extent.

The legend that Athena became the patron saint of Athens is related to the struggle between the goddess and Poseidon. When Athens was first built by Phoenicians, Poseidon and Athena competed for the honor of naming it. Finally reach an agreement; The man who can provide the most useful things for mankind will become the patron saint of the city. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and made a war horse. On the other hand, Athena became an olive tree-a symbol of peace and prosperity. Because war horses are considered to represent war and sorrow, Athens is named after the goddess. The goddess soon put the city under her protection. On the Acropolis, there is still one of the most famous buildings in ancient Greece-the Parthenon dedicated to the goddess Athena.

Athena is the god of art, craft and women's handiwork. Her hands are dexterous and she can't stand the challenge of others. A Lydia girl named Aleckney seems to look down on Athena's ability and often boasts that she can beat the goddess Athena if she has the chance. In a rage, the goddess dressed up as an old woman and advised Aleckney to be modest. But the ignorant woman craftsman bravely challenged her. The goddess took off her disguise and accepted the challenge. Two women immediately set out to create their own works. The pattern designed by the goddess tells the story of her struggle with Poseidon, while Alekney weaves the story of the three golden apples taking off a mortal's clothes for vanity. Later, Athena was surprised to find that her work was not good enough. She became angry from embarrassment and tore each other's work into pieces. Eric laughed at her and satirized her, so the angry goddess turned her into a spider and let her weave forever.

Athena is also Sivir. Because of Athena's positive performance in the Trojan War, her reputation as a god of war even surpassed that of Ares, although she may not be able to beat him. Her trojan horse trick is also one of the main reasons for the final victory of the Greeks. But Athena is different from Ares. Ares loves war, while Athena loves peace, which is why Athens is called a "peace-loving city".

Athena also helped many Greek heroes: with her help, Jason built the Argos ship and completed the voyage to find golden fleece; Poerxiusi cut off the head of the banshee Medusa; Hercules accomplished many great achievements; Odysseus, a participant in the Trojan War, drifted at sea for 10 years and returned to her hometown under her protection. The Golden Apple, one of the three goddesses vying for the Golden Apple, led to the famous Trojan War.

olive branch

Olive branch is the branch of olive, and olive is the national tree of Greece, which is inseparable from Athena, the sacred goddess in the eyes of Greek people. The fruit is an evergreen shrub with beautiful tree shape and lush foliage. It was introduced to China in 1960 and cultivated as a garden ornamental plant in many areas. Small white flowers bloom in September every year, and bear fruit in June 5438+1October, and the fruit turns from green to red in June 5438+065438+1October. From the olive tree, people can know the history of the Greek people's pursuit of peace. Seeing the olive branch will cherish the hard-won peaceful life. The emblem of Athens Olympic Games introduced the olive branch as a symbol of peace.

As the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games and the symbol of the Olympic spirit, the olive branch has profound implications and far-reaching influence. The ancient Greeks believed that the olive tree was brought to the world by Athena, the patron saint of Athens, and it was a symbol of peace and happiness given to mankind by God. Therefore, the olive crown woven by the olive branch is the most sacred prize, and getting it is the highest honor. It is said that the olive branch used to weave laurel must be cut from the sacred tree by children whose parents are alive 12 years old, and then carefully compiled.

Sending an olive branch to a champion athlete is a form of the ancient Olympic Games, which is equivalent to a modern gold medal. As the 2004 Olympic Games returned to their hometown, the organizing committee decided to send an olive branch to the champion, in order to reproduce the elegance of the ancient Olympic Games.

Except for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, no other Olympic Games extended an olive branch to the champion.

The 2004 Olympic Games returned to Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Movement. 1On September 30th, 999, the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee announced the emblem of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The main body of the emblem is a laurel wreath wrapped in an olive branch, shaped like ancient Athens. In the ancient Olympic Games, laurel represented the glory of the champion. In addition, the olive tree is regarded as a holy tree in Athens. The olive branch symbolizes peace, and its pattern also symbolizes the cycle of life, sky and ocean.

Hechuli

Hercules (modern Greek: η ρ α κ λ? Heracles (Heracles) is the greatest hero in Greek mythology, equivalent to Hercules in Roman mythology. The son of Zeus and alcmene. He was so brave that he accomplished twelve great achievements and was promoted to Wuxian County. In addition, he also participated in the Argos expedition to help Jason find golden fleece and rescue Prometheus. Fairy tales about his bravery and courage to struggle have always been the theme that writers and artists are willing to express. In modern language, the word Hercules has become synonymous with Hercules.

The great hero in Greek mythology. The Romans called him Hercules. Father is Zeus, mother is alcmene, wife of Amphitlaoun, king of Thebes, and descendant of Poerxiusi. Before alcmene gave birth, Zeus decided to let the descendants of Poerxiusi born on this day rule Mycenae. Hera, out of jealousy, delayed alcmene's delivery and brought Poerxiusi's grandson Eurystheus forward. Heracles was thrown into the wild by his mother after he was born. Hera passed by and fed him with her own milk without knowing it, so he was extremely powerful. When she was eight months old, Hera sent two poisonous snakes to hurt him, and he strangled her in the cradle. When he grew up, Count casto and Kay Long Xing Centaurs taught him all kinds of martial arts and knowledge. Because he killed his music teacher by mistake, he was sent to the countryside by Amphitryon to graze. He once killed a lion in Kitarong and put its skin on his body (he said he was wearing the skin of a Nimia lion). Before going to life, he refused the temptation of "the goddess of evil virtue" and decided to follow the advice of the goddess of virtue and benefit the people all his life. He returned to Tebai at the age of 18, defeated the miners and forced them to pay tribute to Thebes. To thank him, King Creon of Thebes married his daughter Megara.

Later, Eurystheus asked him to serve. He went to ask for a sign from God, and the sign confirmed that he would complete 65,438+02 jobs for Eurystos, and began to call him Heracles, which means "Hera brings glory to others" or "a man who has achieved something because of Hera's persecution". Hera took the opportunity to make him insane and threw his children into the fire to burn them. During his service in Eurystheus, he made 12 great achievements:

(1) a fierce lion strangled by steel in the forest of Nemea;

(2) Killing hydra that harms people and animals in Lerner swamp;

(3) Capture the red deer alive with Jinjiao's bronze hoof in the Cragneria Mountains (Heracles killed by mistake);

(4) capture the wild boar alive in the dense forest of Mount Hermantos;

(5) In Augeas, a mountain of feces was used to divert water to clean the cowshed;

(6) Drive away the strange birds on Lake Stefano;

(7) Crazy cattle in Crete;

(8) Drive the cannibals of Diomedes from Thrace to Mycenae;

(9) Defeat Hippolyta, the leader of Amazon women, and seize her belt;

(10) Red Bull rushed back to Jiraun from Illetia Island, and erected two steep rocks (namely Hercules Stone Column) at the end of the Mediterranean Sea;

(1 1) won the golden apple in the sacred garden of Hesperides (for this reason, he supported the whole sky on behalf of Al themis. On the way, I also defeated the son of Gaia.

(12) Take three dogs of Hades, the gatekeepers of hades, to the world, and then send them back to Hades.

After being free, Hercules abandoned Megara and went to Okalia to propose to Iole, the daughter of Eurytos. At this time, his master's cow was stolen. In order to prove his innocence, he went out to look for it with Eurytos' son. Hera drove him crazy and killed his companion. In order to atone for his sins, he became a slave to Empler, Queen of Lydia, for three years. Legend has it that he also participated in the heroic voyage of Argo and the hunting of Kaludon, and attacked King Laomedon of Troy. When he attacked Pilars, Hades personally helped the local king nereus, who was badly hurt by him. He later married Diane Naira of Kaluton, and on the way to Trakys with his wife, Nessus Centauri tried to steal his wife, and he shot her to death with a poisoned arrow. Before he died, the centaur persuaded Agnella to collect his poisonous blood so that it could be used to restore her husband's love for her in the future. Hercules captured Iolai when he attacked Okalia, so Anniya was afraid of being abandoned and gave her husband a shirt stained with toxic blood. After he put on this dress, he was in unbearable pain and finally threw himself into the fire. According to Zeus' wishes, he became the god of Olympus, and Hera reconciled with him and betrothed Herb, the goddess of youth, to him as his wife.

In modern languages, his name is synonymous with Hercules. My details 1 1 group introduce you:

Ritual fire

Fire is an important source of human culture and a sacred place in the hearts of the ancients. As an important part of the Olympic Games, the torch has a history of more than 2,700 years. Legend has it that Mount Olympia in ancient Greece was the habitat of the gods. In order to commemorate Prometheus, the fire god who snatched fire for mankind, the locals held a sacrificial ceremony in front of the altar every four years.

The lighting ceremony of the ancient Olympic Games originated from the myth that human beings stole fire from the sky in ancient Greece. Before Zeus in Olympia, the fire was lit on the altar according to religious ceremonies, and then the torch was carried across the city-states to convey the news that the Olympic Games was about to begin. Each city-state had to stop fighting, forget hatred and war, and actively prepare to participate in sports competitions in the Olympic Games. Therefore, the torch symbolizes peace, light, unity and friendship.