where does the olympic flame come from

The Olympic flame comes from a ceremonial lighting in ancient Olympia, Greece, using the sun’s rays focused by a parabolic mirror at the site of the Temple of Hera.

Quick Scoop: Origins of the Flame

• The idea of the Olympic flame comes from ancient Greece , where a sacred fire burned throughout the ancient Olympic Games at the sanctuary of Hestia in Olympia.

• Fire was considered divine, linked to the myth of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, which is why a continuous sacred flame symbolized the presence of the gods during the Games.

How the Modern Flame Is Lit

• For the modern Games, the flame is lit in Olympia by “priestesses” in a staged ceremony, using a concave mirror to concentrate sunlight and ignite the torch, to symbolize purity and continuity with antiquity.

• This ceremony takes place in front of the ruins of the Temple of Hera, tying the modern event directly to the site of the ancient Olympics.

From Olympia to the Host City

• After lighting, the flame begins its journey with a relay across Greece and then is formally handed over in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens to representatives of the next host city.

• The relay then carries that same flame (or backup flames taken from it) to the host nation, where it eventually lights the cauldron at the opening ceremony and burns until the Games close.

TL;DR: The Olympic flame “comes from” Olympia in Greece: it is lit there with the sun’s rays at the Temple of Hera and then carried via torch relay to the host city for each Games.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.