Panathenaic Stadium
All-marble horseshoe stadium rebuilt for the first modern Olympic Games of 1896.
A stadium was first laid out in the natural ravine between the hills of Agra and Ardettos in about 330 BC, under the statesman Lykourgos, for the athletic contests of the Panathenaic festival. Around AD 144 the wealthy Athenian Herodes Atticus rebuilt it entirely in white Pentelic marble, with seating said to hold some fifty thousand spectators. It fell out of use in late antiquity, its marble was gradually removed, and the site lay buried until excavations in 1869-1870 revealed the horseshoe plan.
The stadium was restored in marble at the expense of the Alexandria-based benefactor Georgios Averoff, to designs by Anastasios Metaxas, in time for the first modern Olympic Games in April 1896. It has since hosted the 1906 Intercalated Games, the archery and marathon finish of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the ceremony at which the Olympic flame is handed over to each host nation. Visitors can walk the track, sit in the marble tiers and see the vaulted entrance tunnel.
Highlights
- The only stadium in the world built entirely of marble
- Vaulted tunnel used by athletes since antiquity
- Marble thrones and the upper terrace looking to the Acropolis
- Exhibition of Olympic torches and posters beneath the stands
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