Panathenaic Stadium

Athens Municipality, Greece

Freely accessible

Public space — no opening hours to check.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Opening hours: Mar-Oct: 8:00-19:00, Nov-Feb: 08:00-17:00

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

Find out more

The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens is a multi-purpose stadium and the only structure of its kind in the world built entirely of marble. Originally constructed around 330 BC by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos as a simple racecourse for the Panathenaic Games, it was magnificently rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD, achieving a capacity of 50,000 seats. Following the rise of Christianity in the 4th century, the stadium fell into disuse. Excavated in 1869, it served as the venue for the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875, and after refurbishment, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896, hosting four of the nine contested sports. Designed in consultation with architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller, the marble structure continues as a significant historic landmark, serving as the finishing point for the Athens Classic Marathon and hosting Olympic events again in 2004. It remains designated as an archaeological site in Greece.