New Olympic cartoon duo not a hit with Greeks

ATHENS, Greece -- When the Olympics return to Greece, Phevos and Athena will have the world at their swollen feet. The grinning mascots carry the nation's hopes that the 2004 Games will be a success.

But since their launch on April 4, the ungainly duo have failed to warm the hearts of many people here, who view the creations as bland and even un-Greek.

Celebrities from the arts world have criticized the brother-and-sister images, which were inspired by a Greek terra-cotta doll made some 2,700 years ago.

With cone-shaped torsos, long necks and oversized, triangular feet, their names hail from the mythological god of music and light, Apollo -- another name for Phevos -- and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and protector of Athens.

Their roots may be ancient, but their welcome has been far from warm.

A cartoon in Athens' English-language Kathimerini newspaper on Monday showed a figure from Greece's traditional shadow theater likening the pair to mutants resulting from a nuclear accident.

"I expected something that would represent our culture, not some modern version of Mickey Mouse," actress Dina Konsta wrote in the Athens daily Ethnos. "No matter how much I tried to be positive, they seemed tasteless."

Filmmaker Yiannis Smaragdis added: "What has this to do with Greece? If we see these things at the opening ceremony, it'll be a national catastrophe."

Critics have targeted everything from the mascots' giant feet, their "oversimplified" design and, for one cartoonist, a passing resemblance to a part of the male anatomy. They've even been likened to The Simpsons.

An informal poll conducted over the weekend by Greece's private Star television channel found that about 75 percent of those who called the station disapproved of the designs. Star did not say how many people phoned in.

Olympics organizers were quick to defend their choice.

"The 2004 Olympic mascots are unique, have a long history as well as a modern face," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the games' chief organizer.

Many critics, however, complained that nobody can guess that Phevos and Athena are based on a 7th century B.C. figurine unless they are told so.

The mascot siblings were selected from 196 competition entries and go against a tradition of choosing animal representatives to symbolize the ultimate human competition. The last human figures were the mascots for the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Haakon and Kristin, which were based on 13th century historical figures.

Big-eyed owls, lanky raccoons, a stripy Dachshund and cowboy polar bears all have tried to make their mark, with cuddly icons such as Moscow's Misha the bear in 1980 and Cobi the "surreal dog" for Barcelona in 1992 winning gold in the popularity stakes.

Exceptions to the animal or human rule have included Izzy, the abstract blue mascot of the Atlanta Games, which was among the most criticized of Olympic mascots.

Greek organizers have promised not to repeat the hypercommercial climate of Atlanta, saying they will present the world with a "noble competition on a human scale."

But Phevos and Athena will have to earn their keep.

Sales of T-shirts, mugs, toys, pins and other licensed Olympic products all help recover the billions of dollars spent on preparations.

Athens' logo -- a white olive wreath on a blue watercolor background -- is fast becoming a ubiquitous feature of this city, seen on everything from beer cans to credit cards.

Phevos and Athena's designer, Spyros Gogos, thinks the hostility will wear off.

"As soon as (they) become part of our everyday lives, I'm sure we'll look at them differently," he said. If some adults don't care for his creations, he insists, children will love them.

Mascot defenders also point out that new designs and works of art are often criticized when unfamiliar, only to be admired later on. Cobi was not liked at the start but grew in popularity.

"We will need time to love them," Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said.

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