They argue that the noble tradition that waved goodbye in 1896 has swollen into a corporate cash cow they do not want grazing in their backyard.

Flyers handed out in downtown Athens bear the legend "unwanted" above a cartoon of cigar-chomping businessmen huddled under the five-ring Olympic banner.

The leaflets come from the anti-2004 alliance, a small band of protesters who draw in a crowd from artists and anarchists to architects and greens.

Just like the official organisers, the group have a committee, a timetable and volunteers. The difference is that they run on a shoestring out of a basement in the neighbourhood of Exarhia, the traditional hangout for the capital's radicals.

"When we won the Games back in 1997 we had no idea what was coming. Slowly the reality has emerged and we want to wake up as many Greeks as we can," said a spokesman for the group.

What the country should be waking up to, the alliance argue, is rampant commercialisation, abuse of workers' rights and the privatisation of public spaces. What has really soured the party atmosphere that followed the success of the Olympic bid is the mounting bill for August's Games.

"Poor people aren't interested in ideology but they can count what's in their pocket. We'll be paying for this until we're pensioners," said one of the alliance's leaders, Nana Vafidi.

SECURITY FORCES

Fears of a post-Olympic economic meltdown have been stoked by the unprecedented billion-dollar security budget.

"This isn't a sports event, it's a siege. We'll have soldiers on the streets for the first time since the dictatorship," said Vafidi.

The group complain that the thousands of security forces and cameras amount to a violation of civil rights and will turn Athens into a "prison".

Particular ire is reserved for reports of American soldiers being drafted in to protect United States athletes which prompted the production of flyers screaming the slogan: "Rambo Go Home!"

Anti-American protests are commonplace in Athens but these protesters are a potential thorn in the side of Olympic organisers.

The return to Athens, with the Greek fusion of ancient ideals and modern enthusiasm, was supposed to give the International Olympic Committee (IOC) a leg-up as its tries to climb back on to the moral high ground lost in a mire of doping and bribery scandals.

Marina, who preferred not to give her surname, said a casual encounter with the Olympic flame showed where things had gone wrong.

"I happened to catch it as it came by, first came the...sponsored car, and second came the torch bearer."

BOMB ATTACK

A poster on the group's wall shows cute and cuddly 2004 mascots Athina and Phevos -- one dressed as a riot policeman, the other as a prostitute.

The alliance has distanced itself from a May 5 bomb attack on an Athens police station that was later claimed by a group with many of the same complaints.

"Just because they say some of the same things we do doesn't mean we condone their actions," said Marina.

Street protests, subversive art and alternative festivals are instead seen as the best way to win support.

But direct action is not off the menu: "We will challenge the red zones (no-go areas); this is our city and we have rights," anti-2004 said in a statement.

The group do not expect to see the kind of numbers that are drawn to anti-globalisation demonstrations but intend to continue their campaign beyond August's Athens Games.

"When this is over we will head straight to London and the other (2012) bid cities to spread the word," said Vafidi.