Classics is hitting the entertainment world strangely this week ... in addition to the next item (which still has my mind boggling), there's this one from Reuters:

Zeus will jump on the stage singing "Volare" followed by other Olympian gods performing Eurovision hits when Athens hosts the annual song fest this weekend.

The dress rehearsal for the semi-final of the 51st Eurovision contest, a show known for its flashy pop performances, left most Greek media stunned over what they said was the tasteless use of ancient Greek culture.

"The opening ceremony was kitsch, to say the least. Greeks were left speechless and foreigners laughed," the major daily Ethnos wrote.

Still weary of the cheap, antiquity-inspired fiestas staged by the 1967-1974 military junta, Greeks were relieved and proud the Athens 2004 Olympic ceremonies had impressed world audiences and avoided gaudiness.

The contest that launched the careers of Abba and Celine Dion is no stranger to kitsch but glimpses of the ceremony -- where bouncy dancers in glittering costumes acted out ancient Greek gods -- managed to shock even the initiated.

"What a joke! I never thought I'd see Zeus singing 'Volare'. We have tonnes of antiquities, why don't we send them all to Eurovision," wrote TV critic Depi Golema in the Eleftheros Typos daily.

Goddess of love Aphrodite sings "Diva", Poseidon, god of the sea, performs "L' amour est bleu", while sprightly Spartan warriors wave their shields and spears to the music.

"What was the creator's intention?" asked the liberal daily Elefherotypia. "Kitsch for kitsch's sake."

The choreographer, Fokas Evangelinos, said he wanted to inject a dose of Greek culture and humour to the event.

"We wanted to show something different," he told Ethnos.

More than 100 million people are expected to tune in to the event, where singers from about 40 countries will be judged by telephone voting from viewers.