THE flame which will burn during the London Olympic Games was lit at the site where the ancient Olympics were born, marking the beginning of the Olympic Torch Relay which will end July 27 at the opening ceremonies.

In front of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a priestess, invoked Apollo and lit a fire, and the Olympic torch, using a mirror to concentrate the rays of the sun.

The triangular torch used in the relay is designed to emphasize the fact that London has hosted the Olympic Games on three occasions – this year, as well as 1908 and 1948.

Given the brilliantly sunny skies, there was no need to use the auxiliary flame which had been used during rehearsals.

After the ceremony and a carefully choreographed performance, the priestess presented the torch to the first bearer, Greek swimmer and Olympic silver medalist Spyros Gianniotis.

Gianniotis, 32 years of age, born in Liverpool to a Greek father and British mother, is the first of 490 athletes who will carry the torch over 2,896 kilometers inside Greece before handing it over, in Athens on May 27, to organizers of the London Games.

Gianniotis passed the torch to 19-year-old Alex Loukos, also born to a Greek father and British mother and raised in Newham, East London, close to the Olympic Park.

"It is an incredible honor to be an Olympic torch bearer… especially carrying the flame in Olympia, representing the city of London," Loukos said. "I have grown up with London 2012, since I helped with the Singapore bid when I was 12 years old. I have witnessed the regeneration of my neighborhood in the east of London," he added.

Two veteran athletes will complete the final stretch of the relay within Greece: weight lifter and three-time Olympic gold medalist Pyrros Dimas and the former champion, Chinese gymnast Li Ning.