Not So Ancient

April 8th, 2008 - 9:39 am

With all the hullabaloo going on around the Olympic torch as it makes its way around the world, now would be a good time for a question. Do you know the history of the Olympic torch relay? I’ll bet a lot of people think they do. I’d also bet a lot of people are wrong about its origins.

Just how theatrical were the ancient opening ceremonies on the morning of day one? It’s hard not to let our imaginations run riot, blurring Hollywood movies and the pseudoclassical kitsch of our own lavish Olympics rituals. The torch relay, for example, is so ingrained in the modern choreography that most people today assume it was a revival of a pagan tradition—unaware that it was actually concocted for Hitler’s Games in Berlin.

Fascinating, isn’t it?

More here.

Posted in In the News, Links of Note |

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2 Responses to “Not So Ancient”

  1. on 09 Apr 2008 at 11:59 pm   John

    Seeing as Siegfried is still around, it’d be pretty hard to dispute the facts. Especially with him and his personally engraved torch holder from 72 years ago, the very same one in the photos.

  2. on 10 Apr 2008 at 12:45 am   Orb

    I had to look it up as soon as I heard it on the TV show we were watching. I didn’t know anything about it at all. I am totally apathetic about the Olympics. Have been since I was a kid. Just wasn’t my thing. I probably know more about the ancient Olympics than I do the modern ones. It was definitely interesting to read about.