-
Panathenaic stadium. The semicircular sphendone and two herms. Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης, Carl Siele Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
The Panathenaic Stadium with the Propylaea Carl Siele, Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
The Panathenaic Stadium Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης, Carl Siele Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Ruins of the Panathenaic Stadium Ferdinand Stademann -
Postcard of the Panathinaiko or Kallimarmaro Stadium American Farm School of Thessaloniki © Historical Archives of the American Farm School of Thessaloniki CC BY-NC 4.0 -
Roman marble throne, known as 'The Biel Throne', from the prohedria of the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, as built by Herodes Attikos The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
View of the site of Panathenaic Stadium and Ilissus river Etienne Rey Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
The opening ceremony of the first modern Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium Wikimedia Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain
The Panathenaic Stadium is located on the southeastern side of the ancient city of Athens, in the area of the Lyceum, and was built on a natural hollow of the hill of Ardittos. The prevailing opinion suggests that at this location, on the initiative of the orator Lycurgus, to whom a broad building program of beautification of Athens is attributed, the Stadium was constructed in about 330 BCE for the purpose of holding games and chariot races during the Panathenaic Games. Until then, there was no stadium in Athens and athletic competitions during the celebrations of the Great Panathenaic Games were held in the Ancient Agora and in the Alipedon, in the area of Faliro, where the racecourse was located. It is believed that in the Stadium of Lycurgus, the spectators would have watched the games from the earthen slopes of the hill and the entrance of the athletes would have been from the narrow, northern side. No further details are known about the construction of this early stadium, as it was renovated in the Roman period.
The great task of reconstructing the Panathenaic Stadium was undertaken by Herod Atticus, orator, philosopher and benefactor of Athens, when in 139/40 CE he was appointed as the agonothetes, responsible for the organisation and financing of the Panathenaic Games to be held in 143/4 CE. The new stadium, with a capacity of 50,000 people, was horseshoe-shaped and made of Pentelic marble. Pausanias reports that so much marble was used from Herod Atticus’ private quarries in mount Pentelicus that they were depleted. The area intended for the spectators had 44 rows of marble seats and was divided by a horizontal aisle (diazoma) and vertical staircases forming distinct tiers. In the upper tiers of the sphendone (the rounded end) of the stadium, there was a Doric stoa to protect the spectators from bad weather conditions, while at its eastern end there was a tunnel in which, in imperial times, wild animals were gathered for the beast fights. The length of the track was approximately 204 metres long and 33 metres wide, and the course within it was marked by hermaic columns that served as landmarks. The stadium was separated from the koilon (the auditorium) by a marble parapet, and a monumental propylon was built at its entrance.
On the slopes of Ardittos, on the western side of the Stadium, Herodes erected a small temple to the goddess Tyche and built a triple-arched marble bridge over the Ilissos river to facilitate access to the Stadium. When he died, in 177 CE, the Athenians honoured him by burying him on the eastern slopes of the hill.
In the late Roman period, it is believed that a semicircular wall, corresponding to the sphendone, was constructed on the north side of the stadium in order to turn it into an arena for gladiatorial contests and stage beast hunts. The use of the Stadium in the following centuries is not clear but there was a deconstruction of its parts as many of them were found embedded in other buildings, such as in the “Rizokastro”, the medieval fortification at the base of the Acropolis hill. After the mid-19th century, the area of the Panathenaic Stadium was excavated and, in the following years, the Greek benefactor Georgios Averof undertook its rebuilding with Pentelic marble. The reconstruction was completed in 1895 and, in 1896, the Stadium hosted the first modern Olympic Games.
