Panathenaic Stadium

This article is about the historical stadium. For the minor neighborhood surrounding the stadium, see Kallimarmaro, Athens.
Panathenaic Stadium
Kallimarmaro
Panathenaic Stadium in 2014
Map
LocationPangrati, Athens, Greece
Coordinates37°58′6″N 23°44′28″E / 37.96833°N 23.74111°E / 37.96833; 23.74111
Public transitAthens Tram Athens Tram Line 6 Zappio tram stop
OwnerHellenic Olympic Committee
Capacity144 AD: 50,000
1896: 60,000
[1]
Record attendance70,000 (AEK Athens vs Slavia VŠ Praha, 1968)[2]
Construction
Built6th century BC (racecourse)
c. 330 BC (in limestone by Lykourgos)
c. 144 AD (in marble by Herodes Atticus)
Renovated1896
ArchitectAnastasios Metaxas (1896 renovation)

The Panathenaic Stadium (Greek: Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, romanized: Panathinaïkó Stádio, [panaθinai̯ˈko ˈstaðio])[a] or Kallimarmaro (Καλλιμάρμαρο [kaliˈmarmaro], lit. 'beautiful marble')[4][5] is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. One of the main historic attractions of Athens,[6] it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble.[5]

A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos (Lycurgus) c. 400 BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD it had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned. The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon.[4] It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place.[7][8]

  1. ^ "ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΪΚΟ ΣΤΑΔΙΟ" (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  2. ^ "PANATHENAIC STADIUM". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  3. ^ Welch 1998, p. 139.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kakissis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Darling 2004, p. 135.
  6. ^ Behan, Rosemary (22 March 2016). "Ultratravel cityguide: Ancient Athens is great value and affluent in all the right ways". The National. Abu Dhabi.
  7. ^ "Greece hands over Olympic flame to Rio 2016 organisers". The Week. Kochi, India. 28 April 2016. The flame that will burn for Rio Olympic Games was handed over to the Brazilian organisers in a spectacular ceremony held at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
  8. ^ "Olympic flame handover from Greece to London". The Guardian. 17 May 2012. The Olympic flame is due to be handed over from Greece to London this afternoon at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens...


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