THE story of Olympic Games, the most famous athletic event of ancient times, goes back to antiquity. Hercules himself is regarded as their legendary founder. But it was only in 776 B.C. that an official record of the Games and the winners began to be kept, providing ever since a steady basis for ancient Greek chronology.

Every four years the representatives of the Greek city-states gathered peacefully at the shrine of Olympia to take part in athletic events as well as in artistic and literary competitions. Hostilities would cease and the province of Elia, where Olympia is situated was considered inviolable. A city that violated the month long truce was required to pay a heavy fine and if refused to do so, its athletes were thereafter barred from the Games — quite a blow to any city’s prestige.

The French educator Pierre de Coubertin conceived the modern Olympic Games movement, and the first Olympic Games of modern times were held in Athens in 1896.

In 2004, the Olympic Games are returning to their ancient birthplace. More than 10,000 athletes from 200 nations will engage in noble competition and participate in one of the greatest celebrations of humanity. The Athens 2004 Olympic Games will combine history, culture and peace with sports and the celebration of the Olympic values.

Greece is one of the smallest countries to undertake the task of hosting the Summer Games, yet it is determined to rise to the challenge. It will host multiple cultural events, exhibitions, live performances and other festivities alongside the Games. The Paralympic Games will also take place during Sept. 17-28.

The responsible body is the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. The 2004 Olympic Games are expected to boost the major business sectors of the Greek economy, opening new investment opportunities and prospects for international cooperation, especially in the industries of tourism, construction, telecommunications, transportation, financial services, trade and consulting.

Approximately 40 percent of the Athens 2004 budget will go to goods and services to support the venue operations and overall organization of the Games. Businesses and suppliers, mainly in the areas of communications technology, catering, accommodation, sports equipment, audiovisual facilities, and Olympic overlays have been invited to combine forces with Athens 2004. For information on tenders, please visit http://www.athens2004.com.

In preparation for the Games, Athens is changing. New development and infrastructure projects are progressing fast. Sports competitions will take place in clusters of venues close to the center of Athens. The existing venues are being thoroughly renovated while new ones are being built. The city’s renovated and expanded infrastructure system will allow athletes and visitors to move around easily.

Major infrastructure projects include the new Athens International Airport (“Eleftherios Venizelos”), new highways and upgraded highways, new suburban and light rail networks, a new Athens Metro system, new sports and recreational complexes throughout the country, landscaped pedestrian walkways unifying Athens major archaeological and cultural sites, and access for the disabled.

Beyond Athens, there will be four other Olympic sites in Thessaloniki, Volos, Patra and Heraclion, which will host the preliminary rounds of the football tournament starting on Aug. 11, 2004.

Today, the Olympic flame is lit in Ancient Olympia, and then the Olympic torch will be relayed to the stadium hosting the opening ceremony of the Games. The Olympic flame symbolizes the Olympic ideals of noble competition, friendship and peaceful coexistence.

The Athens 2004 Olympic torch relay will be the first to make a circuit of the globe to return to the country that gave birth to the Games. In 78 days, the Olympic flame will cover a distance of more than 78,000 km. Beyond the borders of Greece, the flame, in the hands of 3,600 Torchbearers, will travel to Africa and Latin America for the first time. A total of 260 million people will have the opportunity to see the Flame in their city.

The relay will pass through the 54 prefectures of Greece. For 43 days, some 7,700 Torchbearers will travel across the country. Once the torch is lit today, the flame will then travel around the Peloponnese and the islands of Argosaronikos for seven days. It returns to Greece on July 9.