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Saint
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I noticed that in the opening ceremony of Olympic Games, the athletes used left hand to hold the torch, why not right hand?
Gokul43201 said: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.
arildno said: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.
Gokul43201 said: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 ?
The Bob said: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 said:That link didn't work. I got "Sorry, there was a problem: please supply quiz_id or quizdef, but not both"
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.
Gokul43201 said: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.
I'd go with this explanation.jcsd said: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.
kuengb said:...I'm sure there's not much of Greek mythology behind this. The Olympic torch was introduced 1936...by the Nazis.
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.
Saint said:nobody is able to answer me? :lol:
kuengb said:I'd go with this explanation.
The Bob said:This was my source but other sources said he was a she...
Gokul43201 said:<I tried running about with an inverted bottle in my left hand...found it a little more tiring than with my right hand>
Gokul43201 said: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 !
Scientists use their left hand to hold the torch because it allows them to use their dominant hand (usually the right hand) to manipulate and observe the object or experiment being illuminated by the torch. This allows for better accuracy and control.
While there is no hard and fast rule for using the left hand, many scientists have found that using their dominant hand to manipulate the object being illuminated is more efficient. Additionally, using the left hand to hold the torch allows for better visibility of the object with the right eye, which is usually the dominant eye.
No, it does not matter if a scientist is left-handed or right-handed. The choice to use the left hand to hold the torch is based on personal preference and what feels most comfortable and efficient for the individual scientist.
There are no safety reasons for using the left hand to hold the torch. However, it is important to follow proper safety protocols when handling any equipment, including a torch, in a laboratory setting.
Yes, a scientist can use their right hand to hold the torch if they prefer. As mentioned, the choice to use the left hand is based on personal preference and what feels most comfortable and efficient for the individual scientist.