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Official ceremonial dress worn by the High Priestess during the Athens 2004 Olympic flame-lighting ceremony. Handmade of heavy beige fabric with dramatic vertical pleating, short sleeves, and a flowing full-length skirt terminating in a fringed hem, the gown is rendered in a classical Greek style and evokes the ancient ceremonial attire worn during the Olympic flame-lighting ritual at Olympia. The interior collar bears a handwritten inscription in Greek, likely identifying the costume maker or production atelier. In fine condition, with areas of fraying or loose fabric.
The duty of the High Priestess at Olympia is to perform the lighting of the Olympic flame by invoking Apollo, the Greek god of light. Among the pillars, in the ruins of the Temple of Hera, beneath Kronos Hill, a parabolic mirror is used to concentrate the rays of the sun and spark a flame, igniting the Olympic torch held by the High Priestess. From this torch, the flame is passed, or kissed, to the lekythos bowl, which is carried into the ancient stadium and used as a conduit to light the first torch of the Olympic relay.
