Why used left hand to hold the torch?

[Saint]

I noticed that in the opening ceremony of Olympic Games, the athletes used left hand to hold the torch, why not right hand?

 

[Gokul43201]

I going to make a wild guess. The left side is sybolic of the sacred feminine, and is associated with goddesses. Since the lighting of the flame is derived from an ancient ritual to honor the Goddess Athena, it's possible, that this is the reason.

 

[The Bob]

I going to make a wild guess. The left side is sybolic of the sacred feminine, and is associated with goddesses. Since the lighting of the flame is derived from an ancient ritual to honor the Goddess Athena, it's possible, that this is the reason.

Athena is a God not a Goddess, to my knowledge.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Gokul43201]

I beg to differ.

Athena is the daughter of Zeus and is the Goddess of Wisdom. I'm certain of this.

PS : Maybe you're confused because She is usually represented wearing armour and a war helmet and holding a shield ?

 

[arildno]

That Athena screamed herself into the position of becoming the "Goddess of Wisdom" was the first step down the slippery slope for the Olympians.

She was nothing but a spoiled brat, twisting her precious Daddy about her little finger.
Good riddance to both of them.

 

[Kerrie]

That Athena screamed herself into the position of becoming the "Goddess of Wisdom" was the first step down the slippery slope for the Olympians.

She was nothing but a spoiled brat, twisting her precious Daddy about her little finger.
Good riddance to both of them.

goodness, you do realize it is only mythology right?

 

[arildno]

Oh, is it?
Thanks for the reminder

 

[Gokul43201]

Yeah, and the other Greek Gods were the epitome of all things good, eh ?

If one day, someone removed every single soap opera on television, and replaced them with stories about the Olympian Gods, I bet no one would know the difference.

But we digress...this is about torches and the Olympics.

 

[The Bob]

I beg to differ.

Athena is the daughter of Zeus and is the Goddess of Wisdom. I'm certain of this.

PS : Maybe you're confused because She is usually represented wearing armour and a war helmet and holding a shield ?

http://quizilla.com/cgi-bin/result/list/list.pl

This was my source but other sources said he was a she so I am sorry. I was wrong.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Gokul43201]

http://quizilla.com/cgi-bin/result/list/list.pl

This was my source but other sources said he was a she so I am sorry. I was wrong.

The Bob (2004 ©)

That link didn't work. I got "Sorry, there was a problem: please supply quiz_id or quizdef, but not both"

 

[The Bob]

That link didn't work. I got "Sorry, there was a problem: please supply quiz_id or quizdef, but not both"

Oh ok. Erm...... http://quizilla.com/users/truly-dippy/quizzes/?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??/

Try following the logical links.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Gokul43201]

Sometimes the word 'God' is used in a genderless sense, just like the word 'actor'.

Any theories on the left-handed torch-bearing...anyone ?

 

[jcsd]

Perhaps cos they wipe their bum wid there other hand?

 

[Gokul43201]

That sounds scholarly !

 

[jcsd]

I'm a clasickal skolar dontcha know

Clearly not everyone can hold the torch with their left hand

Matthew Benson: A freshman construction management major at CSU, Matt Benson has the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch when it comes through his hometown of Colorado Springs on Friday. Benson has managed to succeed in life despite having no left hand. What makes Benson special is that he has never complained about his handicap.

Infact I don;t think there's any special reason at all for holding the torch in the left hand, I've got a feeling that it was ether something stage-managed for Athens or so they could wave to the crowd with their right hand.

 

[Moonbear]

I going to make a wild guess. The left side is sybolic of the sacred feminine, and is associated with goddesses. Since the lighting of the flame is derived from an ancient ritual to honor the Goddess Athena, it's possible, that this is the reason.

The sacred feminine? Did you read The DaVinci Code recently?

I took a look through some photos of torch bearers...doesn't seem to be an official hand. Maybe just coincidence that several were left-handed (it's bound to happen) or some quirk of the way the torch gets handed off from person to person.

Did anyone see the opening ceremonies? I seriously worried for the torch bearer who had to light the cauldron. The way it tilted down and pointed right at him, it looked like the poor guy was going to get toasted! That was just a freaky looking cauldron! And that platform he was standing on seemed awfully wobbly! It was visibly moving as he stepped onto it...scary! All the money in the world wouldn't be enough to pay me to set foot on something that high up and wobbly with a torch aiming straight at me.

 

[Gokul43201]

I read Da Vinci Code last year...and am reading Templar Revelation (NF) now...

I'll never forget the lighting of the torch at the Seoul Olympics - the finale' involved this Korean archer who shot a flaming arrow from several hundreds of yards away, and it landed beautifully into the torch-bowl (for want of a better word) and lit it. Was quite spectacular !

 

[Saint]

nobody is able to answer me? :lol:

 

[kuengb]

Infact I don;t think there's any special reason at all for holding the torch in the left hand, I've got a feeling that it was ether something stage-managed for Athens or so they could wave to the crowd with their right hand.

I'd go with this explanation.

I'm sure there's not much of Greek mythology behind this. The Olympic torch was introduced 1936

...by the Nazis.

 

[Gokul43201]

...I'm sure there's not much of Greek mythology behind this. The Olympic torch was introduced 1936...by the Nazis.

Not introduced - revived !

The Torch Relay in Ancient Times

Fire is a sacred symbol dating back to prehistoric times. In ancient Greece it symbolized the creation of the world, renewal and light. It was also the sacred symbol of Hephaestus, and a gift to the human race from Prometheus, who stole it from Zeus.

At the centre of every city-state in ancient Greece there was an altar with an ever-burning fire and in every home the sacred Flame burned, dedicated to Hestia, goddess of the family. Torch Relay races started in ancient Greece as religious rituals held at night. Soon they turned into a team athletic event, initially among adolescents, and further developed to become one of the most popular ancient sports.

In the Prytaneum at Ancient Olympia there was an altar dedicated to Hestia with a sacred Flame, kindled from the sun’s rays, with the help of a hollow disc or mirror. The altar was never allowed to go out. The procedure was simple but striking: the concave surface had the property of focusing or binding the rays of the sun at a single spot, the “focal” point. Therefore, the High Priestess laid the Torch on the focal point and it caught fire.

During the Olympic Games of the Antiquity, that started at 776 B.C., the Flame that burned in Olympia never went out. The Ancient Greeks held a "lampadedromia" (the Greek word for Torch Relay), where athletes competed by passing on the Flame in a relay race to the finish line. In ancient Athens the ritual was an important part of the Panathenaia fest, held every four years in honour of the goddess Athena. The strength and purity of the sacred Flame was preserved through its transportation by the quickest means; in this case a relay of Torchbearers. The Torch Relay carried the Flame from the altar of Prometheus to the altar of goddess Athena on the Acropolis. Forty youths from the ten Athenian tribes had to run a distance of 2.5 kilometres in total.

The Torch Relay and its Modern Revival

In a prophetic speech at the end of the Stockholm Games, on June 27th, 1912, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said:
"And now… great people have received the Torch… and have thereby undertaken to preserve and… quicken its precious Flame.
Lest our youth temporarily… let the Olympic torch fall from their hands… other young people on the other side of the world are prepared to pick it up again. The Olympic torch will follow its course for the sake of a word with more faith, courage and purity…" "

The Torch Relay, as the opening event of the Olympic celebration, was revived in the Berlin Olympiad in 1936 and since then the Torch Relay has preceded every Olympic Summer Games. Starting from Olympia and carried by the first Torchbearer, the young athlete Konstantinos Kondylis, the Flame traveled for the first time hand to hand until it reached the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Since then, the Flame’s magic has marked the beginning of the Games and has been identified with it.

 

[Gokul43201]

nobody is able to answer me? :lol:

If you read the posts in your own thread, you'll see there there are at least 2 different solutions proposed. Clearly, you can see that this section of the forum is called "General Discussion" and until someone has a definitive answer, we will provide our opinions on the matter and discuss them...which is what we've done.

You don't help matters by strolling by and complaining, when you have not shown any interest in the discussion. It only puts people off from wanting to answer your queries.

 

[Gokul43201]

I'd go with this explanation.

I'm much more likely to believe that it's a coincidence rather than a stunt that allows you to wave to the crowd.

When you are given the honor of carrying the torch for the olympics, your primary concern is to not screw up in front of the whole wide world. I seriously doubt that anyone would risk holding the torch in their weak hand, just so they can wave with their right hands. <I tried running about with an inverted bottle in my left hand...found it a little more tiring than with my right hand>

http://www.athens2004.com/en/Athens2004OlympicTorchRelay shows someone holding the torch in his right hand...though this is likely not during the Opening Ceremony itself.

 

[BobG]

This was my source but other sources said he was a she...

No, I think that was that guy in Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".

<I tried running about with an inverted bottle in my left hand...found it a little more tiring than with my right hand>

Please, tell me you're kidding. Not only is that a safety violation, but it's just a little bit weird. Whether you ran around the neighborhood like that, or just ran around in circles in your living room, that's just plain weird. If you were my neighbor, I'd move.

 

[Gokul43201]

Safety violation ?? Ooh, imagine if I dropped that little plastic bottle filled with dihydrogen monoxide - we could have a meltdown. :surprise: Heard of treadmills ?

I was thinking of the Kinks' Lola...but Wild Side is is almost verbatim !

 

[BobG]

Safety violation ?? Ooh, imagine if I dropped that little plastic bottle filled with dihydrogen monoxide - we could have a meltdown. :surprise: Heard of treadmills ?

I was thinking of the Kinks' Lola...but Wild Side is is almost verbatim !

Treadmills can be dangerous . I knew a woman who tried to take her sweatshirt off while running on a treadmill and lost her balance. Having her sweatshirt caught at one end of the treadmill with her arms tied above her head and the side of her face being rubbed raw isn't an amusing experience - at least not for her, anyway - the rest of us thought it was hilarious!

He who laughs at the misfortune of others understands the meaning of life.