瞿　旭

萬(wàn)眾矚目的北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)圣火采集儀式在希臘古奧林匹克遺址圓滿落下帷幕，并開啟了在全球范圍內(nèi)的圣火傳遞活動(dòng)。那么奧運(yùn)圣火采集儀式究竟從何而來(lái)；整個(gè)儀式“暗藏”了什么玄機(jī)；奧運(yùn)圣火為何要傳遞五大洲；傳遞過(guò)程中怎樣保持其不被熄滅呢？

Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, playing the role of a high priestess, kindles a pot with the Olympic flame during the Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony in Olympia, Greece, March 24, 2008.

The Olympic flame is one of the most important symbols of the Olympic Games. Lighting the flame has been an important part of every Olympic opening ceremony since it was first used in Berlin in 1936. The idea of keeping a flame lit throughout the Games was first used by the ancient Greeks in Olympia.

A few months before the opening of the Games, a ceremony is organized on the site of the original Games, the ancient sanctuary of Olympia. An actress dressed as a ceremonial priestess, in the robes of the ancient Greeks, lights the torch via the same technique used in the original Games.

She uses a parabolic mirror to focus light rays from the sun. The parabolic mirror has a curved shape. When it is held toward the sun, the curvature focuses the rays to a single point. The energy from the sun creates a great deal of heat. The priestess holds a torch in the center of the parabolic mirror, and the heat ignites the fuel in the torch, sparking a flame.

If the sun is not shining on the day of the lighting ceremony, the priestess can light the torch with a flame that was lit on a sunny day before the ceremony.

The flame is carried in a fire pot to an altar in the ancient Olympic stadium, where it is used to light the first runners torch.

For the Winter Games, the relay actually begins at the monument to Pierre de Coubertin (the man who founded the modern Olympic games in 1896), which is located near the stadium.

When the first torch is lit, the relay begins.

The flame is carried by relay all the way to its final destination. Although it is usually carried by runners on foot, other modes of transportation are also used. For air transportation, the flame is sheltered in a security lamp, similar to a miners lamp. At night, the flame is kept in a special cauldron.

The highlight of the opening ceremony of the Olympics is the entrance of the Olympic flame into the stadium. The final torchbearer is always a citizen of the host country whose identity is kept secret until the last moment.

The final torchbearer does a lap around the stadium before lighting the huge cauldron with the Olympic flame. Pigeons are then released as a symbol of the peace in which the Olympic Games should take place.

The flame remains lit for the duration of the Games.

2008年3月24日，在希臘奧林匹亞舉行的奧運(yùn)火炬點(diǎn)火儀式上，擔(dān)任最高女祭司的希臘女演員瑪利亞·娜芙普利都點(diǎn)燃了盛有奧運(yùn)圣火的火種罐。

奧運(yùn)圣火是奧運(yùn)會(huì)最重要的象征之一。從1936年柏林奧運(yùn)會(huì)上首次使用奧運(yùn)圣火開始，點(diǎn)燃圣火就成了每屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)開幕式的重要組成部分。在整個(gè)比賽中保持奧運(yùn)圣火熊熊燃燒的主意是古希臘人首次在奧林匹亞采納的。

奧運(yùn)會(huì)開幕前幾個(gè)月，在奧運(yùn)會(huì)的發(fā)源地——古奧林匹亞遺址上的古祭壇舉行儀式。一個(gè)女演員扮作儀式的女祭司，身著古希臘長(zhǎng)袍，用古代奧運(yùn)會(huì)用過(guò)的相同方法點(diǎn)燃火炬。

她用凹面鏡匯聚太陽(yáng)光，這種鏡子的鏡面有一定弧度。當(dāng)把鏡子對(duì)著太陽(yáng)時(shí)，有弧度的曲面能把太陽(yáng)的光線匯聚成一個(gè)點(diǎn)。太陽(yáng)光的能量能產(chǎn)生大量的熱能。女祭司把火炬放在凹面鏡的中心，熱能就點(diǎn)燃了火炬上的燃料，從而激發(fā)出火焰。

如果點(diǎn)火儀式那天天公不作美，女祭司可以用儀式前陽(yáng)光燦爛時(shí)點(diǎn)燃的火焰來(lái)點(diǎn)燃奧運(yùn)火炬。

圣火放在火種罐里，送至古奧林匹亞競(jìng)技場(chǎng)的祭壇上，在此處用其點(diǎn)燃第一名火炬手的火炬。

冬奧會(huì)的火炬接力開始于顧拜旦（現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會(huì)之父，1896年創(chuàng)建現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會(huì)）紀(jì)念碑，該碑立于競(jìng)技場(chǎng)附近。

第一個(gè)火炬點(diǎn)燃后，火炬接力就開始了。

圣火通過(guò)接力跑一路送至奧運(yùn)會(huì)的最終目的地。盡管圣火傳遞通?？客讲奖寂軐?shí)行，但其他傳遞方式也會(huì)用到。空中傳遞時(shí)，圣火會(huì)用安全燈保護(hù)起來(lái)，這種燈類似于礦工的礦燈。夜間，圣火會(huì)保存在一個(gè)特殊的大火爐中。

奧運(yùn)會(huì)開幕式的高潮無(wú)疑是奧運(yùn)圣火進(jìn)入運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)的那一刻。最后一名火炬手通常是主辦國(guó)的公民，其身份直到最后一刻才會(huì)公開。

最后一名火炬手會(huì)繞運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)地跑一周，之后再點(diǎn)燃載有奧運(yùn)圣火的巨大火爐。之后，象征和平的鴿子被放飛，奧運(yùn)會(huì)就正式開始了。

奧運(yùn)圣火在比賽期間會(huì)一直熊熊燃燒。