Marble Athens Stadium

Kalimarmaro or Panathinaiko Stadium is located in the Pagrati neighborhood. The stadium hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The stadium was used for the prototype of the modern Olympic Games in 1870 and was not in use until the 1896 Olympics, when it was restored in white marble through the financial assistance of Georgios Averoff. Locals walk and play sports at the top of the stadium, where the view is beautiful and admission is free. You can enter here, but as all locals have made a more convenient entrance for themselves, which is located here.

Antiquity 

The site for the stadium was a ravine between Ardette Hill and the Ilisos river. The earthworks transformed the ravine into a Greek stadium with an entrance on one side and seats for spectators on three slopes. The first competitions in the stadium were held in 330 b.c., during the celebration of the Great Panathenaea, dedicated to the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena. A significant expansion and renovation of the stadium took place during the period of Herodotus Atticus in 139-144. The stadium took the shape of an elongated horseshoe and 50,000 marble seats, and a marble bridge over the Ilisos was built for access from the city to the stadium. The stadium in Athens and the only one in the world built entirely of white Pentelian marble. 

Restoration of the stadium

 The remains of the ancient building were excavated and restored in the mid-19th century with funds from Greek patriot Evangelis Zappas. With his support, the stadium hosted the Olympic competitions of 1870 and 1875. The second major phase of works was carried out in 1895 for the first modern Olympic Games with the financial assistance of Georgios Averoff (his marble statue now stands at the entrance). Since the stadium in its modern form was built only at the beginning of the revival of the Olympic Games, it was built according to the old model (in particular its running tracks do not meet the modern accepted standards). The stadium of 50 horizontal marble rows seats about 80,000 spectators. Until the middle of the 20th century, the Ilyssos River flowed directly in front of the entrance to the stadium. The river often flooded during the spring floods, so the area was called "Frog Island". Later it was hidden under Vasiliy Konstantin Avenue.