I am happy if I can awake consciousness lighting the Olympic Flame: ceremony High Priestess

"When I reached Olympia this year -- and there is of course no comparison to me with the Panathinaic stadium -- (I felt) this site is like being made by Gods or God for hosting this ceremony," she said.

Lehou is on the spotlight, but never feels alone when shouldering the burden of responsibility for an impeccable performance. She feels Ignatiou and the other dancers by her side. Ignatiou has transmitted to her the passion for the ceremonies.

"She never gives me precise instructions, but an idea of what I should do. I ask her how should I raise the torch and she responds 'However you like. As long as the Torch lifts you'. This is the kind of instructions she gives me, instructions which allow me to travel and reach the substance of the whole thing," she explained.

The other members of the team also support her.

"They help me very much. Of course the High Priestess is on the spotlight. They are telling me 'our hearts are always beating like crazy to see whether you will make it to light the Flame and everything runs smoothly' and I feel the responsibility and the burden to make it, but they give me power. They give me energy. They create an energy field so I can perform very well. I do not feel loneliness," she said.

What happens if something goes wrong? "We are humans. Something may go wrong. But my experience as an actress is helping me to cope with this, because I know that in each play I am working something will go wrong. I have just learnt, I have been trained to get over it. The hardest thing I was asked for in this ceremony is staying idle," Lehou noted.

After several minutes of stillness during the ceremony her hands and legs are going numb, she explained. She felt cold. She learnt to clear her mind and deal with anything.

The role is demanding and there is no remuneration. Lehou, Ignatiou and all people involved in the ceremonies are volunteers. They are investing time and effort for at least six months before each ceremony. Lehou turned down job proposals for this summer.

"I do not regret losing another role in the theater or the financial cost, because of course I do not get paid for this and one needs to consider how to make a living. I think that this is unique. I will not live it again. It is so simple. When you are not going to live something again, you just choose it," she said.

Anyway, she is in this profession for the expression of herself and cooperation rather than specific roles, she explained. The role of Medea maybe is the only exception to her rule. "I have no desire to play any particular role in my life, because I am not interested in roles but people and cooperation, encounters in my life. This is a role I really want to perform because it is unsolved to me. It is like entering a dark tunnel and I would love to get inside and manage to find the light at the end," she said.