The Panathenaic Stadium (, ) or Kallimarmaro ( , ) it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble.

A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos (Lycurgus) BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD. It had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned. The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon.

Location

The stadium is built in what was originally a natural ravine between the two hills of Agra and Ardittos, Donald Kyle suggests that it is possible that Lykourgos did not build but "renovated or embellished a pre-existing facility to give it monumental stature." According to Richard Ernest Wycherley the stadium probably had stone seating "only for a privileged few." Ten similar thrones have been found around Athens.

Herodes Atticus built it as "an architectural means of self-representation, and it did something analogous. The architecture of the building makes allusions to the Classical past while remaining unmistakably modern. It is Roman in scale, but it self-consciously rejects the distinguishingly Roman features of monumental facade and extensive vaulting." The seats of the cavea were decorated with owls in relief, which symbolize Athena. Katherine Welch wrote in a 1998 article "Greek stadia and Roman spectacles":

Abandonment

thumb|The ruins of the stadium in the background, 1835

After Hellenistic festivals and bloody spectacles were banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I in the late 4th century, the stadium was abandoned and fell into ruin. Gradually, its significance was forgotten and a field of wheat covered the site. During the Latin rule of Athens, Crusader knights held feats of arms at the stadium. A 15th century traveler saw "not only several rows of white marble benches, but also the portico at the entrance of the stadion, which he calls the north entrance, and the stoa round the koilon, which he calls the south entrance." The derelict stadium's marbles were incorporated into other buildings. European travelers wrote of "magical rites enacted by young Athenian maidens in the ruined vaulted passage, aimed at finding a good husband." The Zappas Olympics, an early attempt to revive the ancient Olympic Games, were held at the stadium in 1870 and 1875. They were sponsored by the Greek benefactor Evangelis Zappas.

The stadium held the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1896 Olympics. On 6 April (25 March according to the Julian calendar then in use in Greece), the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened; it was Easter Monday for both the Western and Eastern Christian Churches and the anniversary of Greece's independence. The stadium was filled with an estimated 60,000 spectators,

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File:Panathenaic Stadium 1895 reconstruction.png|Reconstruction works at the stadium, 1895

File:Panathenaic Stadium 1896 oppening.jpg|alt=Panorama|The first day of the 1896 Olympics

File:Athens 1896-Entrance of the Pan-Athenian stadium.jpg|Entrance of participants to the stadium. The Acropolis is seen in the background.

File:1906 Intercalated Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.jpg|The opening ceremony

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1906 Intercalated Games

The stadium hosted the 1906 Intercalated Games from 22 April to 2 May.

thumb|upright|Archery matches in the stadium during the 2004 Olympics

Home of AEK Basketball Club

From the mid- to late 1960s, the stadium was used by AEK Basketball Club. On 4 April 1968, the 1967–68 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup final was hosted in the stadium where AEK defeated Slavia VŠ Praha in front of around 70,000 seated spectators inside the arena and another 10,000 standing spectators near the entrance.

2004 Olympics

The stadium "needed no major refurbishing" prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the games the stadium hosted the archery competition (15–21 August) and was the finish of the Marathon for both women (22 August) and men (29 August).

2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games

The opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held here which featured special appearances such as Stevie Wonder, Vanessa Williams and Zhang Ziyi. The games ran from 25 June to 5 July.

Concert venue

On occasion, the stadium has also been used as a venue for selected musical and dance performances.

  • In April 1916 Giuseppe Verdi's Aida was staged at the stadium.
  • On 5 October 2008, the stadium hosted the MTV Greece launch party, with guests R.E.M., Kaiser Chiefs, C：Real and Gabriella Cilmi.
  • On 1 July 2009, Sakis Rouvas performed a sold-out concert in support of environmental issues before an audience of 50,000. it was the largest attendance ever at the stadium for a non-sporting event, and the largest attendance for a single musical artist in Greek history, until Anna Vissi broke the record in 2024.
  • On 16 July 2018, the Scorpions gave the "Once in a Lifetime" concert at the stadium.
  • On 5 October 2024, Anna Vissi broke every previous record with a concert attended by 65,000 fans.
  • On 13th and 14th of September 2025, Anna Vissi performed 2 sold out concerts attended by 130,000 fans.
  • On 2 October 2025, Robbie Williams performed at the stadium as part of his Britpop Tour.

Other concerts include those of Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo (27 June 2007) and a dance performance by Joaquín Cortés (14 September 2009).

In more recent years, the stadium has been often used to honour the homecoming of victorious Greek athletes, most notably the Greece national football team after its victory at the UEFA Euro 2004 on 5 July 2004 Designated as a National Historic Landmark, it is the first collegiate athletic stadium in the United States. Deutsches Stadion in Nuremberg, designed by Albert Speer, was also modeled on the Panathenaic Stadium. Speer was inspired by the stadium when he visited Athens in 1935. The stadium was designed for some 400,000 spectators and was one of the monumental structures of the Nazi regime. Its construction began in 1937, but was never completed.

Commemorations

The Panathenaic Stadium was selected as the main motif for a high value euro collectors' coin; the €100 Greek The Panathenaic Stadium commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Olympics. In the obverse of the coin, the stadium is depicted. It is shown on the obverse of all Olympic medals awarded in the 2004 Olympics, and it was also used for the succeeding Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008, in London in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and in Tokyo in 2021.

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File:Panathenaic Stadium.png|Atlas von Athen, Berlin, 1878

File:Estadio Panatenaico.JPG

File:Kallimarmaron NW.JPG

File:Athens2.jpg|View from Mt. Lycabettus at night

File:Δισκοβόλος, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο - panoramio (1).jpg|Discobolus statue outside the stadium by Konstantinos Dimitriadis

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;Panorama of the Panathenaic stadium from the entrance

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File:GR-athen-panathinaiko-stadion.jpg

File:Kallimarmaron Panathinaiko-Stadion 2014.jpg

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See also

  • Hippodrome of Constantinople

References

;Notes

;References

Bibliography

;Excavation reports

;Discussions