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ATHENS, Greece - Stylized figures from ancient Greek art parade around the stadium to the beat of techno music.
A laser light show creates geometric patterns on a giant head-shaped block that breaks into pieces of sculpture right out of antiquity.
The round belly of a woman seemingly ready to give birth transforms magically into a ball of light.
Mixing 3,000 years of history with modern technology, the Athens Olympics kicked off Friday night with an Opening Ceremony designed to convince the world that Greece has futuristic capabilities and no longer must rest solely on its laurels as the birthplace of the Olympics and many of Western civilization's underlying principles.
"Citizens of the world, welcome to Athens. Olympic Games, welcome back to Greece," boomed the emcee's voice as the 3 1/2 -hour show got under way with hundreds of drummers pounding away rhythmically like a heartbeat.
The extravaganza lacked the rambunctiousness of Sydney's rollicking look at its criminal foundations and the sentimentality of Salt Lake City's position as the first Games of the post-9/11 world.
But there was never any intention to engage in one-upmanship in creating Athens' show, said technical producer David Zolkwer.
"All we wanted to do is tell a story uniquely Greek," he said.
And to do it, added creative conceiver Dimitris Papaionnou, "not as an academic lecture but as a joyful celebration."
The pageantry celebrated the sea, so important to Greece throughout its history. It paid homage to mythological creatures and Herculean figures, the human body, the god Eros and the technological wonder of a message from space.
Ultimately, too, the ceremony honored the 10,500 athletes from 202 national Olympic committees who will compete over the next 16 days in the XXVIII Summer Olympiad, the 27th since the Games were revived here in 1896.
While the first modern Olympics featured a short parade of athletes from just 13 teams, Friday's procession alone took nearly two hours - just shy of the entire length of the 2002 Opening Ceremony.
The parade culminated, as always, with a thunderous ovation for the home team, led into the stadium by weightlifter Pyrros Dimas, a modern Greek hero (although Albanian by birth) cut from the mold of Coroebus, the first Olympic champion in the Games of 776 B.C.
Throughout the history of the ancient Olympics, perpetually warring Greek city states ceased their fighting each time the Games were held. This ability of sport to make the world a more peaceful place was highlighted in speeches by Athens organizing committee president Gianna Angelopolous-Daskalaki and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.
"In your contests, divisions between nations and races disappear," said Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.
"We need peace. We need tolerance. We need brotherhood," added Rogge, a noted linguist, delighting the audience with a speech that began and ended in Greek. "Show us that sport unites by overriding national, political, religious and language barriers. May the Games be held in peace in the true spirit of the Olympic truce that was created here."
For an Olympics taking place amid widespread fears of a terrorist attack, the message was received warmly by 70,000-plus spectators well aware of tight security all around and a trouble-detecting blimp flying overhead.
The troubled state of world affairs also was reflected in the loud ovation given to the two dozen members of the Iraqi team, which had suffered great indignities under the regime of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein and his sons.
But any concerns that the United States would receive a cold reception for its Saddam-ousting invasion of Iraq proved unfounded. The massive U.S. team received warm applause from the audience, which included numerous Americans affiliated with the U.S.-based corporations that help underwrite the Games.
Unlike Salt Lake City, where the identity of the cauldron lighter was kept secret until the end, Athens' selection was well-publicized - the honor went to Nikolaos Kakalamanakis, a gold-medal winning sailor at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
But like Salt Lake City and Sydney before it, Athens experienced a heart-stopping moment when it appeared uncertain whether the high-tech cauldron had ignited. After a slight delay, however, the cigar-shaped cauldron burst into flame as it was mechanically turned upright, upholding for now organizers' contentions that Greece is capable of efficiently running the biggest event in the world.