Strange

Greek lives scarred by inferno

by Zlender | December 3, 2007 at 12:40 pm

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The fire is gone for some months now but it will probably take years for people and nature to fully recover.

The scorched Hill of Kronos at ancient Olympia stands as a symbol of the inferno that swept across southern Greece in August.

The Greek government plans to replant the hill in time for the lighting of the Olympic torch at Olympia next March, ahead of the Beijing Games. The reforestation is expected to begin this week.

The hill is surrounded by ruined temples and the ancient stadium where the first Olympic Games were held in 776BC.

The site will not return to its pre-inferno glory for years - probably not until the ignition of the Olympic Torch in 2012 for the London Olympics, according to Greece's Institute of Forestry Research.

Olympia's mayor Giorgos Aidonis told the BBC that some tree species that grew there in ancient times would be planted, along with pine trees, which had covered the hill before the fire. Over the centuries the pines had replaced the old trees, which were mentioned in ancient texts.