The Panathenaic Stadium of Athens (or Kallimarmaro)

The Panathenaic Stadium of Athens (or Kallimarmaro) is known as the Roman Stadium, Panathenaic Stadium or simply Kallimarmaro We are referring to this incredible stadium located at the end of Herodou Atticus Street, within walking distance of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch and the Acropolis.

This amazing stadium was originally constructed in ancient times to host the famous Panathenaic Games, which were held in honour of the goddess Athena, the city’s patroness. Initially, the stadium had wooden seats, but in 329 BC the governor Lycurgus rebuilt it with marble. In 140 BC, the Roman general Herod Atticus renovated it and gave it a seating capacity of 50,000.

Centuries passed and the stadium was neglected. In medieval times it was used as a quarry and suffered various damages. However, at the end of the 19th century (1886), it was renovated to host the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens. The reconstruction was commissioned to the architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller. The money was provided by the Greek benefactor Georgios Averoff, whose marble statue stands at the entrance to the stadium.