There was huge applause for Afghanistan on its return to Olympic competition after an eight-year absence and with its first women athletes. Coach Nina Suratger, in a shimmering green robe and head scarf, carried the flag.
The entrance of the more than 500-member US team -- led by basketball guard Dawn Staley -- drew cheers. But some people also stood and put their thumbs down in an apparent show of displeasure for the war in Iraq. Moments later, the Iraqis entered to a roaring ovation.
China's team was led by 2.23m Yao Ming, who carried his country's flag and towered over even other basketball giants.
Paraguay carried a banner that read "From Horror to Hope'" in apparent reference to the supermarket fire that killed nearly 400 people earlier this month.
For nearly two hours, the teams filed in: Russians in 1920s-style white outfits to first-time Olympians from the tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati in woven grass costumes.
Greece traditionally enters first because of its links to the ancient games. But as the host nation, its more than 404 athletes also were the last, exulting as the crowd chanted "Hellas! Hellas!" as the country is called in Greek.
The team had two glaring holes, however. A doping scandal threatens the country's biggest track stars -- 200m champion Kostas Kenteris and 100m silver medalist Katerina Thanou.
Kenteris had been considered the favorite to light the Olympic cauldron. Instead, he and Thanou were hospitalized with minor injuries following a motorcycle wreck. The accident came after the two were accused of evading a drug test.
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