Athens organisers have unveiled a cartoon incarnation of an ancient doll as the mascot for the next Olympic Games. Twin siblings Athena and Phevos were inspired by a 7th century BC bell-shaped doll believed to be one of the world's first toys.

"The mascots are two modern children, brother and sister," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the chief for Athens 2004.

Greek gods

"They were inspired by history and their names come from ancient Greece."

Phevos, the male mascot, is another name for Apollo, the god of light and music. His sister, Athena, is named after the goddess of wisdom and protector of the Greek capital Athens.

"The children represent the joy of participating in the games, regardless of the result. They also symbolise other things, equality and brotherhood.

But most of all they symbolise that the heart of the Games always was and still remains man himself," said Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

International competition

The siblings were chosen from among 100s of proposals from all over the world, after meeting the brief of showcasing a modern Games with an ancient tradition.

The surreal sheepdog Cobi, created for the 1992 Barcelona Games, was the most profitable while Moscow's Russian bear Misha, at the 1980 Olympics, was one of the most endearing of past mascots.

Atlanta's Izzy, was the first computer-generated mascot and Sydney came up with three animal mascots in 2000, an idea which helped reap more profits.

Ancient original

The prototype doll with its endearing oversized feet is on show at the National Archaeological museum in Athens.

"It was a very good idea coming from the past," said Denis Oswald, the IOC member in charge of Athens' preparations.

Oswald led a 38-member delegation that looked over 2004 venues in a three-day visit in early April.

Athens organisers got the thumbs up over progress on the troublesome issue of accommodation, while Oswald expressed satisfaction with security proposals.

Both the IOC delegation and Athens organisers restated the need to stick to strict schedules as Angelopoulos-Daskalaki insisted that they could not afford to lose a single day of work over the next two years.