ATHENS, Greece - Police briefly scuffled with a small group of demonstrators when the Beijing Olympics torch relay reached Athens on Saturday.

The group of anti-globalization protesters, chanting "the Olympics means construction and steroids," challenged a police cordon as runners carried the torch though central Athens. The relays were not disrupted and no arrests were reported.

Two other small protests were planned for later Saturday when the flame was scheduled to reach the Acropolis.

More than 2,000 police had been deployed to provide security in Athens.

Thousands of people gathered in the Greek capital to watch the event, as the runners ran through streets lined with the Chinese, Greek and Olympic flags.