Updated 2:52 PM ET November 19, 1999
By Jeremy Gaunt and Costas Paris

ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek capital erupted in violence on Friday after police fired dozens of rounds of tear gas to break up a mass protest against the arrival of President Clinton.

Banks and shops throughout the main commercial area were smashed and fires set across central Athens as Air Force One touched down, bringing the president, his wife and daughter for a stopover of under 24 hours.

Clinton, who scrapped plans for a more elaborate visit last weekend in the face of protests, said he had come to Greece as a friend.

"I have come here as a 'philhellene' -- a friend of Greece, and I look forward to experiencing that wonderful quality of Greek hospitality known to all the world," he said shortly after his arrival.

But in the streets of Athens, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators portrayed Clinton as the "Butcher of the Balkans" for his leadership of NATO's assault on Yugoslavia.

Riot police fired a volley of tear gas when demonstrators tried to push through their lines to march on the U.S. embassy. Choking fumes drove demonstrators and bystanders alike rushing from central Syndagma Square.

A Reuters reporter counted at least 10 damaged banks and at least 35 smashed shops, some on fire, in the ensuing riot. The Labor Ministry and central bank were both damaged.

Thirty-five fire engines were called out to extinguish blazes that were set across the city, some of which were still burning more than two hours later.

Sporadic clashed also continued into the evening.

At least 13 people were rushed to hospital, police said.

CARS SET ALIGHT

Some cars were also set alight, including one outside the Athens stock exchange that officials said belonged to the bourse president.

In the northern port city of Thessaloniki, used by NATO to supply Kosovo troops, about 2,500 anti-Clinton demonstrators stormed the port. They tore down a European Union flag and hoisted banners saying "Clinton get out" and "Killers go home."

Clinton was greeted at the airport by a friendly crowd of about 100 Greek Americans who cheered "Clinton, Clinton, We love you" and waved Greek and American flags.

He was scheduled to attend a state dinner later. The Clintons were due to spend the night at a heavily-guarded hotel in central Athens around two km (more than a mile) from the riot scene.

In his brief remarks at the airport, the president said he wanted to help build a Europe in which the Balkans were stabilized.

"Our nations have so much in common. We are allies with a shared commitment to peace and security -- democracies with a long tradition of impassioned political debate about issues that affect our lives and engage our convictions," Clinton said.

Greeks, however, were widely opposed to NATO's war on Yugoslavia earlier this year and still resent deeply American support for the 1967-74 military junta that ruled Greece.

Banners held up among a sea of red flags in the demonstration accused Clinton of being a fascist and a murderer. One called for "Yankees out of the Balkans" while another said "Greece is not a protectorate."

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who is to meet Clinton for talks on Saturday, was portrayed as an American dupe selling Greece out to Turkey, Greece's longtime rival.

One poster showed Simitis wearing a Turkish fez emblazoned with the letters U.S.A