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The Olympic flame blew out at the start of Thursday's torch lighting ceremony in Greece's ancient Olympic stadium but was soon relit to start its 78-day journey to the 2012 London Games.
A gust of wind snuffed the flame at the beginning of the ceremony in Olympia, forcing a priestess in the ceremony to re-light it with a backup. The flame was being held in a bowl from the temple of Hera.
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As it tradition, both flames were created using only the sun and a mirror.
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Actress Ino Menegaki, playing the priestess, lit the flame after a brief ceremony that included ancient dances and music.
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The priestess then handed off the flame to Liverpool-born Greek swimming world champion Spyros Gianniotis.
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Gianniotis carried the flame around the ancient ruins, past assembled fans. Only 50 VIPs were allowed to watch the actual ceremony. Others gathered nearby.
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The flame was passed to 19-year-old Alex Loukos to symbolize the transfer from Greece to England.
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The flame will travel 1,800 miles through Greece this week before going to the United Kingdom next week, where it starts its 70-day, 8,000-torchbearer journey, culminating at London's Olympic Stadium on July 27.
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