The breakdown

What: Summer Olympic Games

When: Aug. 13-29, 2004

Where: Athens, Greece

How: Athens was selected as the host city Sept. 5, 1997 by the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. The other finalists were Rome; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cape Town, South Africa; and Stockholm, Sweden.

The mascots

The mascots for the 2004 Games are a brother and sister, Athena and Phevos. Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll, and they are named for two Olympian gods: Phevos, the god of light and music, known as Apollo; and Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens.

The emblem

The emblem depicts an olive wreath or kotinos - a branch from an olive tree intertwined in a circle. It represents the ancient Olympic Games, where the kotinos was the official award for champions. Also, the olive was the sacred tree of Athens. The colors of the emblem symbolize the shades of white and blue found in the Greek countryside.

The games

Aquatics, Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe/kayak, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Field hockey, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Modern pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Soccer, Softball, Table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Track and field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling.

In the beginning

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. Thirteen countries competed. The gold medal count: United States (11), Greece (10), Germany (7), France (5), England (3), Australia (2), Austria (2), Hungary (2), Denmark (1), Switzerland (1), Russia (0), Italy (0) and Turkey (0).

By the numbers

28: Sports

38: Venues

301: Medal ceremonies that will take place over a 16-day period

10,500: Athletes expected to participate

199: National Olympic Committees expected to participate