While the Olympics have traditionally been the realm of human competition, it appears robots are coming for next year's Games in South Korea. A humanoid bot, dubbed HUBO, received the iconic flame from Dr Dennis Hong in Daejeon on Monday 11 December 2017.

From ancient Olympia to the icy slopes of PyeongChang, the flame travels thousands of miles over the course of its journey.

Initially derived from the sun's rays in a parabolic mirror, the flame starts its epic journey at the Temple of Hera, site of the Olympic Games in ancient times.

Greek cross-country skier Apostolos Angelis had the honor of being the first official torchbearer on this occasion. Here he also holds an olive tree branch as a symbol of peace.

A succession of torchbearers carried the flame to the top of Acropolis Hill, where Greek gymnast Dimosthenis Tampakos (Olympic champion in the rings at Athens 2004) illuminated the columns of the Parthenon.

After completing a week-long tour of Greece, the flame was officially passed to the PyeongChang organizing committee at a handover ceremony. Greek Alpine skier Ioannis Proios is shown holding the torch at the ceremony in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium on October 31, 2017.

It touched down at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in the safe hands of former figure skating champion Yuna Kim (R) and South Korea's Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister, Do Jong-Hwan.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Lee Nak-yon, then lit the cauldron to signal the start of the Olympic flame's journey to PyeongChang 2018.

The honor of being the first to carry the Olympic flame on home soil fell to 13-year-old figure skating prodigy You Young.

Just 11 years old when she won her first national championships title in 2015, the teenager said: "It is my dream to represent my country at an Olympic Winter Games and I am working hard to make that dream a reality very soon."

The Olympic Flame will be exchanged by 7,500 torchbearers over the coming months days as it makes its journey around the Republic of Korea.