Olympic torch lands back in Greece
IRAKLION, Greece -- The Olympic flame arrived home from an unprecedented global journey on Friday, greeted by folk dancers for the final Greek leg of the relay past the sites of ancient myths, monuments, and epic battles.
A chartered jumbo jet, named "Zeus" and flying a Greek flag, landed in the southern island of Crete and was welcomed in the city of Iraklion, one of four sites outside Athens that will host football matches.
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, chief organizer of the August Games, carried the flame in a lantern down the steps of the plane to light the torch held by Panagiotis Yiannakis, Greece's Olympic basketball coach.
The flame was lit on March 25 in a traditional ceremony at Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the games. Its international voyage began June 4 in Australia and went on to cover 78,000 kilometers (46,800 miles) through 26 countries.
The relay visited Africa and South America for the first time, and provided epic images such as torch bearers on China's Great Wall and around the base of Egypt's Giza Pyramids.
It's last international stop was on the divided island of Cyprus.
In Greece, about 7,000 runners are scheduled to carry the torch in 29 cities and six major archaeological areas, including the site of the 490 B.C. Battle of Marathon -- which gave the modern race its name -- and Vergina, the legendary burial place of Philip II, father of the 3rd century B.C. emperor-conquerer Alexander the Great.
