Mike's review
Visited 2021Panathenaic Stadium is built in a natural ravine east of the National Garden. A stadium stood here for the Panathenaic Games in antiquity. Herodes Atticus rebuilt it in marble in the 2nd century AD, and it was renovated again for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The white marble carries the visit: long horseshoe seating, track, tunnel, and city hills around it. It is an easy stop near Zappeion and the National Garden, and it gives Athens' ancient athletics and modern Olympic revival one physical place.
From the source
The Panathenaic Stadium is the long horseshoe of white marble east of the National Garden. Lycurgus built the first stadium here around 330 BCE for the Panathenaic Games. Herodes Atticus rebuilt it in Pentelic marble between 140 and 143 CE, creating seating for roughly 50,000 spectators.
After centuries of abandonment and stone removal, Ernst Ziller excavated the site in 1869-1870. Anastasios Metaxas used those findings to reconstruct the stadium for the first international modern Olympic Games in 1896, funded by Georgios Averoff. A visitor ticket normally includes the track, vaulted passage, and a small exhibition of Olympic posters and torches. The steep marble seating remains exposed to sun and can be slippery in wet weather.
Supporting source: Legacy import provenance
Plan your visit
Hours
March-October 08:00-19:00; November-February 08:00-17:00.
Admission
- Admission
- €12
Features & amenities
What to bring
- Water
- comfortable shoes
More near here
Other pins within walking distance of Panathenaic Stadium.
Planning Athens
The rest of my Athens saves, on the city's planning pages.