Workers assemble the Olympic rings at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, where the marathon will end.
An aerial view of the Olympic stadium in Maroussi.
The shot put finals will be held at the ancient stadium in Olympia and include no grandstands, electronic boards or artificial lighting.
In Athens, Greece, site of the fast-approaching Summer Olympics, it is seven hours from now. That's the difference between Eastern Standard and Eastern European time, though a pretty good argument could be made for recalibration.
You see, there's time . . . and there's Greek time.
The latter moves entirely at its own pace.
In less than five months, the Olympics will return to Athens for the first time since the modern Games were born there more than a century ago. Though workers are scrambling to complete major projects, let alone the finishing touches for the Aug. 13 Opening Ceremonies, Athens just might show the world the most impressive collection of Olympic venues since Zeus lit the torch.
As long as the world doesn't mind a little wet paint.
"The Games will take place, and whatever is needed for the Games will be in place," Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the Athens Organizing Committee, said recently. "We are working very seriously for this. Greece will give a unique answer to all those who dared to doubt her."
That would be just about everyone.
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As always in Greece, a little historical perspective is in order. The Olympic Games began nearly 3,000 years ago in 776 B.C. to honor Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. For more than 1,000 years, the Games were held every four years in Olympia until 393, when they were abolished by Roman emperor Theodosius, a Christian who deemed them pagan.
A series of earthquakes and floods buried the many temples and buildings in Olympia until the mid 19th century, when an excavation uncovered them from beneath 10 feet of silt. Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, known as the founder of the modern Olympics, revived the Games in Athens in 1896.
Fast forward about 100 years.
In 1997, when Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Games, the International Olympic Committee was downright giddy with the notion of the modern Games returning for the first time to the city of their birth. But, in typical Greek fashion, little was accomplished over the next three years, prompting critics to suggest moving the Games to another location.
"I hadn't spent a lot of quality time in Greece before five years ago," said Bob Condron, director of media services for the U.S. Olympic Committee, who has traveled to Athens five times in the past four years, most recently earlier this month. "They're like, "Hey, don't worry about how we do things. We'll get it done. We're not Switzerland. Every minute is not accounted for. We might take a long lunch hour, but then we may work at night.' It is their own deal, and they don't like anyone getting inside that thought process."
Badgered from their slumber, the Greeks finally got to work on an ambitious plan to accommodate thousands of athletes and millions of spectators. The city's infrastructure would be transformed by a new airport, subway and tram system. Antiquity and modernity would blend to create a unique set of venues, including a nearly 3,000-year-old stadium and more than a dozen new structures.
"The venues will be ready," Condron said. "And this may be the best set of Olympic venues ever. It's going to be unreal. I've been to 12 of these things, so it's not like I'm a gee-whiz guy. These are going to be great because they're all brand new. And that's the problem. They're all brand new, and everybody is panicking."
A surge in activity the past three years has surprised early critics, but with deadlines quickly approaching - work must be completed in time for test runs - one major project has been scrapped and three others are a long way from complete:
The Olympic Stadium, site of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and track and field, lacks a steel-and-glass roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to be the architectural signature of the Athens Games. Though IOC officials suggested the roof be scrapped - many such stadiums are open-air - a construction chief recently promised it will be finished by June 20.
The marathon route, which follows the path for which the event was named, needs to be widened and landscaped. Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias, the man in charge of the project, promised improvements would be complete by mid June.
Perhaps most critical to the perceived success of the Games, a tram system connecting downtown Athens with the airport and outlying venues is woefully behind schedule, creating the possibility of a transportation nightmare on Athens' choked city streets.
On March 20, officials announced a roof will not be built over the main pool at the aquatics center as had been requested by the international federation and television executives. Rather, the schedule for the swimming events will be adjusted to keep swimmers and water polo competitions out of the scorching midday sun.
Adding to the complications, Greece underwent a shift in government as the conservative New Democracy Party defeated the Socialists in elections March 7. Costas Caramanlis, the country's first conservative premier in 11 years, has taken personal charge of the ministry of cultural affairs, which oversees most projects for the Games.
Caramanlis vowed the Games will be a success.
"It is certain that some months from now, Greece will be at the epicenter of the world's interest," Caramanlis said. "All the lights will be on us. We must undertake every effort to be absolutely ready because it is not one government or another being judged. The image of contemporary Greece is being judged."
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Closing arguments will be critical to the verdict. Among the many new or newly renovated venues, several have completion target dates as late as June 30.
The Athens Olympic Sports Complex, in the northern suburb of Maroussi, is the centerpiece. The complex includes the Olympic Stadium, aquatics center, tennis center, indoor hall and velodrome. Two of the Games' most popular events, basketball and gymnastics, will take place at the indoor hall, where renovations are ongoing.
Galatsi Hall, site of table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics, is scheduled to be finished in May. The baseball and softball stadiums, part of the Heleniko Olympic Complex in a southern suburb, also are new as well as the Markopoulo Equestrian Centre, Nikaia weightlifting hall and Peristeri boxing hall.
But to really impress, Greece is calling on antiquity, complementing its sparkling, new facilities with a handful of venues that hearken to the ancient Games and 1896.
The marathon will begin in ancient Marathon, where the race gets its name, and follow the path of the Greek soldier Phidippides, who ran more than 26 miles to Athens with word of a battle victory only to drop dead upon delivering the news. The race will end in Panathinaiko, the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Olympiad in 1896.
"The 1896 stadium will make you just sit there and reflect," Condron said.
Also, the finals of the men's and women's shot put will be held in Olympia, site of the ancient Games, where visitors can walk through the ruins of the Temple of Zeus. Now a sleepy town in southern Greece, about 200 miles from Athens, Olympia plays a role in every Olympics as the site of the torch lighting.
This year, in addition to Thursday's torch lighting, competition will be held in Olympia for the first time in nearly 2,700 years. To preserve the original Olympic Stadium where foot races once were held, there will be no intervention to the grounds - no temporary structures or grandstands, no electronic boards, no artificial lighting. "It is a historic moment," IOC executive board member Lambis Nicolaou said after the venue was approved.
Also, Karaiskaki Stadium in Athens, used in 1896 as the velodrome, is being renovated to host soccer matches. It should be ready soon.
Everything should be ready soon.
At this late date, there is no alternative.
"The people who are panicking haven't seen how an Olympics or a big event like this just shifts gears," the USOC's Condron said. "Fifth gear at the Olympics is pretty fast, and all of a sudden, it just gets done. It's painted and the landscape is done and the whistle blows."
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.
