Panathenaic Stadium
· Landmarks · 4 min
The marble stadium where the first modern Olympic Games opened in 1896.
The Panathenaic Stadium is where the first modern Olympic Games opened, in 1896. Walk the track where the Panathenaic Games were held in antiquity.
First laid out in the 4th century BC and rebuilt in marble in the 2nd century AD, the stadium was restored in marble again for the 1896 Games. Athenians call it Kallimarmaro, "beautiful marble", and it is often described as the only stadium in the world built entirely of it. The seating rises steeply in a horseshoe around the track.
Walk through the arched tunnel the athletes used, and take a slow lap of the track where the first modern Olympians competed.