ATHENS, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The Parthenon and other ancient monuments around Athens will be lit at night during the Aug UST 13-29 Olympic Games as part of a project to highlight the city's monuments for the big event.

Hundreds of spotlights have been placed around the Acropolis, known to Greeks as the "sacred rock", and other locations around the city.

The project is headed by French engineer Pierre Bideau, who was also responsible for designing the millennium lights-and-fireworks spectacle at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It will eventually include nearby ancient sites which are linked by a pedestrian walkway, as well as the city's Lycabettus Hill.

Athens' ancient sites have undergone years of restoration work and many will be finished by mid-August. Unfortunately, scaffolding propping up parts of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon willstill be in place during the Olympics.

Bideau worked on the lighting project with Michael Cacoyiannis,director of the 1964 movie "Zorba the Greek."

(Xinhua News  Agency  July 22, 2004)