Panathenaic Stadium

The Kallimarmaro, the beautifully marbled, occupies the site of a stadium built in the fourth century BC for the Panathenaic Games and rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus around AD 144. It was excavated and reconstructed for the first modern Olympics of 1896, funded largely by the businessman Georgios Averoff, whose statue stands outside. The horseshoe of white Pentelic marble seats about 45,000 people on steep tiers; the running track is a tight elongated horseshoe with hairpin turns that modern athletes find almost unrunnable, which is why the Games moved to conventional ovals. Visitors can walk the track, sit in the marble thrones reserved for dignitaries, and follow a tunnel to a small display of Olympic torches and posters from every Games since 1896.

History

From the 6th century BC a simple racecourse here hosted the Panathenaic Games, every four years in honour of Athena, with spectators on the natural slopes; around 330 BC the statesman Lykourgos built a stadium of poros stone, 850 feet long, completed for the Games of 330/329 BC. Herodes Atticus, an Athenian who rose high in Rome, rebuilt it in marble by 144 AD, with seats for 50,000 (Wikipedia, Panathenaic Stadium).

What's there

• The marble tiers - forty-five thousand seats cut from Pentelic marble.
• The track - the hairpin horseshoe used in 1896.
• The Olympic torch exhibition - torches and posters from every modern Games.
• The vaulted tunnel - the athletes' entrance under the seating.

When to go

Early morning for cool marble and empty tiers; the stone reflects heat fiercely by midday in summer. The stadium hosts the finish of the Athens Marathon each November and occasional concerts, when it closes to visitors.

What to expect

It is one large open space, visited in an hour, and the marble glares in strong sun. The audio guide carries most of the interest; without it, the visit is quick. Climbing to the top tier is steep but the view over the city is the best part.

Nearby

The National Garden and Zappeion lie across the road; the Temple of Olympian Zeus is a five-minute walk west.

Key facts