Inside 2000-year-old former Olympics and Euro final stadium which held 80,000 fans and was most recently used for tennis
THE Panathenaic Stadium in Greece has seen its fair share of sport over the last 2,000 years.
But despite its ancient history, it is still going strong in 2023.
EPAThe Panathenaic Stadium has been in Athens for more than 2,000 years[/caption]
Stefanos Kyriazis/NurPhotoThe stadium is still in use today after all these years[/caption]
The venue in the Pagrati region of central Athens first hosted events as early as the 6th century BC – including races and even the Panathenaic Games every four years in honour of the goddess Athena.
Spectators would simply sit on the natural sloping banks – with a limited limestone seating structure for the most prestigious guests understood to have first been built around 330 BC.
Then from roughly 140 to 144 AD, Herodes Atticus oversaw the complete reconstruction of the Panathenaic Stadium in marble, with a huge 50,000 capacity.
However, following the Greek resurgence in the second century, the stadium fell into ruin after its abandonment – not helped by the banning of various festivals and barbaric events.
So much so that the playing area became a field of wheat by the fourth century.
And it was not until the 19th century that archaeologists discovered traces of the abandoned venue – before the Greek government funded a refurbishment ahead of the 1896 Olympics.
The opening and closing ceremony for the first modern Games, as well as athletics, gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling, were staged at the Panathenaic Stadium – with an increased capacity of 80,000.
During the 20th century, meanwhile, the iconic U-shaped arena was used for a host of events including the 1968 European Cup Winners’ Cup in basketball, military festivals and concerts.
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Then in 2004, it hosted the archery at the Olympics as well as the homecoming part of the Greek national football team that won the Euros.
Incredibly, the Panathenaic Stadium is still in operation today – literally thousands of years on.
And it even hosted Greece’s Davis Cup tie against Slovakia in September as world No7 tennis ace Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to deliver for his nation in the historic amphitheatre.
CorbisThe stadium was renovated for the 1896 Olympics[/caption]
Stefanos Kyriazis/NurPhotoThe stadium was used for Greece’s Davis Cup tie in September[/caption]
