Photos: Olympic torch begins journey to Rio for the 2016 Olympic games

The Olympic flame is back: Greek actress Katerina Lechou performs

the role of the high priestess as she lights the Olympic flame at the

Temple of Hera at the site of ancient Olympia.

The traditions of the torch-lighting ceremony, which include playing of the

ancient Greek instrument the lyra and the release of a

white dove for peace, were established at the Berlin Games in 1936.

Lechou passes the Olympic flame into a small ceramic bowl.

The ceremony was performed at the site where the Olympics were

born in 776 BC and remained for 12 centuries.

The first torchbearer was Greek gymnastics world champion Eleftherios Petrounias.

The torch is beginning a six-day relay tour of Greece which includes a

pass through a refugee camp in Athens.

Gold medal-winner Petrounias said he was said he was shocked to be

chosen as the first torch bearer. "I was driving when I heard,"

he told the Games' official website. "I almost crashed my car."

The Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro will host the opening

ceremony for Brazil 2016. The Games run from 5-21 August.