ESPN Olympic Sports

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece -- White and purple flowers grow among toppled temples at the site where the ancient Olympic Games were born 2,800 years ago.

But in the fire-blackened hills and river banks just beyond, a race is on to replant large swathes of forest wiped out by massive summer wildfires that killed 66 people and ravaged southern Greece.

At stake is images broadcast worldwide during the March 24 flame-lighting ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Greek officials say the effort will pay off, and some 30,000 young plants will be in place for the elaborate ceremony, held in Ancient Olympia since the 1936 Berlin Games.

"We are working seven days a week, late into the evening," project supervisor George Lyrintzis said. "We have completed 75 percent of the work at an intensive pace, and the planting will be finished by the end of this month."

During the flame-lighting ceremony, an actress in the white gown and sandals of an ancient priestess will offer a ritual prayer to Apollo, ancient god of light and music, in front of the ruined temple of Hera. The Beijing flame will be lit using a concave mirror to focus the sun's rays on a silver torch. If the day is overcast, a backup flame will be used from a trial lighting.

A relay of runners will then carry the flame for 85,000 miles over 130 days -- the torch's longest journey in Olympic history.

The ancient Games were held at Olympia for more than 1,000 years in honor of Zeus, chief of the ancient gods. In August, forests around the site were devoured by Greece's worst wildfires on record. Firefighters stopped the flames just short of the ancient ruins and Olympia's rich archaeological museum at this World Heritage site.

"A large section of the Olympic landscape was lost," archaeologist Olympia Vikatou said.

Over the past three weeks, Lyrintzis' team has planted some 22,000 tree saplings and bushes -- aiming to recreate the scenery ancient travelers described more than 1,800 years ago.

The work will cost about $3.9 million, which is covered by a donation from the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation. It is providing an additional $1.9 million for replanting around ancient Olympia by 2010.

The replanting includes oaks -- sacred to Zeus -- cypresses, olive trees, poplars and Judas trees up to 8 feet tall, along with laurel and oleander bushes.

"Most of the plants we are using are local species with the exception of 3,000 cypresses imported from Italy, as these have a higher resistance to disease," said Lyrintzis, a senior official at the state National Agriculture Research Foundation.

The 120 acres being replanted include surrounding hills and river banks, as well as the Coubertin Grove, where the heart of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, is buried.

Landscapers had to compensate for two months lost to bureaucratic delays, which prompted Greece's Olympic Committee last month to urge speedy action if the country was to avoid "international disrepute."

On Monday, a committee official said it was monitoring the works, but declined to comment on progress.

Vikatou, a senior archaeologist responsible for the Olympia area, said the schedule was tight but he expressed optimism that it would be done on time.

The Games started in 776 B.C. and were the most important sporting festival in ancient Greece, held every four years and lasting up to five days.

After Christianity was established, Roman emperor Theodosius abolished the festival in A.D. 394, deeming it pagan. The site hosted an Olympic event during the Athens 2004 Games, when the shot-put was held in the ancient stadium.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index