The Panathenaic Way, or Dromos, was one of the most important streets in the ancient road network of Athens, connecting the areas of the city outside the walls with the Ancient Agora and the Acropolis. It was a wide road approximately one kilometre long, which started from the Dipylon, crossed the Ancient Agora and ended at the Sacred Rock. Its surface was mainly composed of soil and gravel, but during its long period of use (from the 6th century BCE to the 6th century CE) it underwent several interventions. These included, among others, paving works in the area of the Agora during the Roman period and the construction of a staircase with retaining walls on the northern side of the Acropolis. Excavations on the eastern side of the street revealed a stone conduit with recesses along its length for rainwater drainage, dating back to the Hellenistic era.
This central road got its name from the festival of the Great Panathenaea, established in 566 BCE. During this celebration, the magnificent procession carrying the sacred veil for the cult statue of Athena Polias crossed the Panathenaic Way and ended up at the Ancient Temple, later known as Erechtheion. The grand, numerous procession was forming on the Panathenaic Way in the Agora, possibly near the Altar of the Twelve Gods. As part of the celebration, chariot races and running competitions took place on the road. The citizens of Athens would watch the festivities either sitting on movable wooden platforms or from the buildings on either side of the way. The section of the Panathenaic Way at the north-western part of the Agora was also used for the training of the hippeis (cavalry), an elite military corp.
The Panathenaic Way was essentially a central avenue, a bustling street from which citizens were directed towards the Ancient Agora, the administrative, political and commercial centre of the city. Moreover, for the needs of the celebration of the Panathenaea, the same road was transformed into a processional route where the Athenians either observed the magnificent procession that crossed it or participated in it. This impressive procession, from its preparation in the section of the Panathenaic Way in the Ancient Agora, to the delivery of the veil to the goddess Athena in her temple on the Acropolis, is illustrated in the Parthenon frieze.
