A theatrical mixture of ancient and modern Greece launched the Athens Olympics on Friday, lifting spirits in the Games' birthplace after the host nation was rocked by a drugs drama involving its two top sprinters.
A world-wide television audience saw a grand opening ceremony lift the curtain on the biggest sports show on earth, as patrolling helicopters and troops underlined the Games are guarded by the largest security operation in peacetime Europe.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge and Greek leaders have said everything humanly possible has been done to ensure the safety and success of the Olympics - the first summer Games since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Tens of thousands packed the futuristic new Olympic Stadium, centrepiece of a two-week festival of sports that was under threat from chaotic construction delays until the last minute.
A heartbeat of drums counted down to the opening moment and then, amid torchlight and fireworks, a boy aboard a paper boat drifted across the make-believe Aegean Sea waving a Greek flag.
Combining symbolism of the ancient Greece that created the Olympic Games nearly 3,000 years ago with the 21st technology, giant sculptures appeared above the waters. A living frieze of Greek history paraded by, the voice of opera diva Maria Callas echoed across the stadium and lasers created a DNA helix.
Led by the Greek flag, athletes from the 202 competing nations then streamed in, with tiny Saint Lucia - Agia Loukia in Greek - taking alphabetical pride of place at their head.
IRAQIS CHEERED: Big cheers greeted the Afghan and Iraqi teams, a mark of sympathy for their nations' troubles. Contrary to some fears in the US camp, the big American contingent met warm applause.
Former US President George Bush is in Greece to join world leaders in a show of unity behind the Olympic ideal of peace. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of Greece's long-time rival Turkey has said he will bring a message of global co-operation.
Among political and royal leaders present from around Europe and further afield were British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Spain's Queen Sofia and the presidents of Germany and Italy.
Organisers expected four billion to watch on television.
Hours before the ceremony, the IOC spared host nation major embarrassment by granting "Greece Lightning" Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou more time to explain why they missed dope tests.
But a 72-hour extension for Olympic 200 metres champion Kenteris and Thanou, 100 silver medallist, after they failed to show up for a disciplinary hearing on Friday was perhaps only a postponement of what could still turn into a national scandal.