The Olympic flame left Greece's second largest country Thessaloniki, passing the ancient site of Dion, the town standing at the foot of the Olympus on Friday.
The flame left Thessaloniki in the morning as mayor Vassilios Papageorgopovlos kindled the setting-off torch in Aristotle Square.
The flame's passed first the ancient site of Dion, the Ancient Theatre, in its 400km journey.
The residents in the town of Dion and Katerini, 15 km northeast of Dion, flocked into the ancient relic to cheer the arrival of the flame.
Dimosthenis Tambakos, the 2004 Athens Olympics rings' champion, lighted the cauldron amid applauses.
"It's such a special feeling to run the torch, especially in Ancient Theatre," said Tambakos, who had been to China in the 1999world gymnastics championships in Tianjin.
"I have yet to qualify for the Beijing Games, but I will try my best in trials."
The song "to pelago ine vathi" composed by Greek famous song writer Manos Hatzidakis was sung in the ceremony.
Dion is a municipality and village in the Prefecture of Pieria, Northern Greece, best known for its museum and archaeological site.
The ancient city of Dion was a place of some importance, due to its location at the foot of Mount Olympus. Archaeological findings show that this was where Zeus was honored.
The passions were lighted in the town. "It's important for the town to receive the flame again. It's a great festival for the town of 2000 inhabitants. It's a sign of world peace," said 15-year-old Fivos Tsiklias.
"Mount Olympus is the place where the Twelve Gods dewelled. Olympus means light and force in Greece," said George Raptis, a retired history professor from Athens Police Academy.
After his retirement, Raptis came back hometown of Dion and now is a freelancer of two newspapers "Olympia Vima" and "Imerisia" based in Katerini.
"The Olympic flame is going to sight in five continents and bring civilization to the world. It's a moment to celebrate and it's a moment to be proud for Greek, for Chinese and the rest of the world, " added Raptis.
Litsa Papadopoulou, a French teacher of high school in Katerini, was one among the crowd, who had been to Beijing.
"I traveled to Beijing last October and roam around the big city in my stay of a week there," said Papadopoulou.
"It's fabulous to see the Palace Museum and Greet Wall. China and Greece are both countries with great ancient civilization, but they keeps distinctive style and charm.
"I like Chinese food so much and now I am a loyal patron of the local Chinese restaurant," added Papadopoulou.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article