OLYMPIA, Greece - The 2010 Olympic torch was lit Thursday by the rays of a scorching Grecian sun beating down into a mirror during a theatrical and symbolic ceremony attended by dignitaries and tourists.
The drama, amid the ruins of the site of the ancient Olympic Games, was lit in the Temple of Hera by an actress playing a high priestess.
She said a prayer to Apollo, the Greek god of sun, asking him to "send your rays and light the sacred torch for the hospitable City of Vancouver."
The prayer also asked Zeus to "give peace to all peoples on Earth and wreath the winners of the sacred race."
With the presentation of an olive branch and the release of a white dove, the torch departed with a Greek runner, the start of a seven-day historic relay through Greece.
It will then be handed over to Vancouver 2010 officials next week and flown to Canada for a 45,000-kilometre, 106-day trek criss-crossing the country before culminating with the start of the Winter Games in February.
The ceremony moved many of the dignitaries in attendance who have been planning the Games for years.
"When you see it actually lit and he runs out, you know it's here," said B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.
"The Games are coming."
Added Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson: "It feels very real. Being here in the cradle of ancient Greece makes it as real as it could be."
John Furlong, chief executive officer of the Vancouver organizing committee, told the ceremony the lighting of the torch creates a bridge between ancient Greece and a much-younger Canada.
"The flame has a unique power to unite us as countries and as people," he said, adding being in Olympia for the ceremony was a "treasure."
"We are joined together by common ideals and an eagerness to make the world a better place through fair play, respect and a commitment to peace and the power of sport."
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, called the torch a message of friendship, respect and peace.
Several hundred people attended the lighting ceremony, with dignitaries seated on chairs and hundreds more spectators sprawled on the sloped, grassy hills that ring the stadium.
Four Canadians who had made a special trip to witness the historic moment were also on hand.
The federal government is contributing $12.5 million to the relay, and there are two corporate sponsors: Coca-Cola and RBC.
The Greek portion of the relay see about 700 people carry the flame through villages and towns until it reaches Athens.
There, a handover ceremony at the stadium that hosted the first modern Olympiad will see the flame handed over to Canadian officials.
It arrives in Victoria on Oct. 30.
