<P> The Olympic flame as a symbol of the modern Olympic movement was introduced by architect Jan Wils who designed the stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam . </P> <P> The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greece, where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia . In Ancient Greek mythology, fire had divine connotations--it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus . Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia . Every four years, when Zeus was honoured at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera . The modern Olympic flame is ignited at the site where the temple of Hera used to stand . </P> <P> When the tradition of an Olympic fire was reintroduced during the 1928 Summer Olympics, an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first modern Olympic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam . The Olympic flame has been part of the Summer Olympics ever since . The Olympic flame was first introduced to the Winter Olympics at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch - Partenkirchen . </P> <P> By contrast to the Olympic flame proper, the Olympic torch relay, which transports the flame from Olympia, Greece to the various designated sites of the Games, had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin which were organized by the Nazis under the guidance of Joseph Goebbels . </P>

When did the olympic flame was lighted first time