Panathenaic Stadium: Difference between revisions

| seating_capacity = 144 AD: 50,000<br />1896: 80,000<br />Current: 45,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Stadiums in Greece|url=http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/greece.shtml|website=worldstadiums.com|quote=Multi-use Athens Panathenaic Stadium 45 000|access-date=2009-12-23|archive-date=2017-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915044316/http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/greece.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| publictransit = {{ric|Athens Tram}} {{ric|Athens Tram|T4}} {{ric|Athens Tram|T5T6}} [[Zappio tram stop]]

A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman [[Lycurgus of Athens|Lykourgos]] (Lycurgus) {{circa|330400}} BC, primarily for the [[Panathenaic Games]]. It was rebuilt in marble by [[Herodes Atticus]], an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD andit 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 [[1896 Summer Olympics|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 Summer Olympics|2004]]. It is the finishing point for the annual [[Athens Classic Marathon]].<ref name="Kakissis"/> It is also the last venue in Greece from where the [[Olympic flame]] handover ceremony to the host nation takes place.<ref>{{cite news|title=Greece hands over Olympic flame to Rio 2016 organisers|url=http://www.theweek.in/news/sports/greece-hands-over-olympic-flame-to-rio-2016-organisers.html|work=[[The Week (Indian magazine)|The Week]]|date=28 April 2016|location=Kochi, India|quote=The flame that will burn for Rio Olympic Games was handed over to the Brazilian organisers in a spectacular ceremony held at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Olympic flame handover from Greece to London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/may/17/olympic-flame-handover-from-greece-to-london-live-coverage|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=17 May 2012|quote=The Olympic flame is due to be handed over from Greece to London this afternoon at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens...}}</ref>

Originally, since the 6th century BC, a racecourse stood at the site. It hosted the [[Panathenaic Games]] (also known as the Great Panathenaea), a religious and athletic festival celebrated every 4four years in honour of the goddess [[Athena]]. The racecourse had no formal seating and the spectators sat on the natural slopes on the side of the ravine.{{sfn|Darling|2004|p=133}}

In the 4th century BC the Athenian statesman [[Lycurgus of Athens|Lykourgos]] (Lycurgus) built an {{convert|850|ft|m|adj=on}} long stadium of [[Porosporos stone]] limestone.<ref name="Dinsmoor"/> Tiers of stone benches were arranged around the track. The track was {{convert|669|ft|m}} long and {{convert|110|ft|m}} wide.{{sfn|Darling|2004|p=133}} In the ''Lives of the Ten Orators'' [[Pseudo-Plutarch]] writes that a certain Deinas, the owner of the property where the stadium was built was persuaded by Lykourgos to donate the land to the city and Lykourgos leveled a ravine.<ref name="Miller et al"/>{{sfn|Romano|1985|p=444}} [[Inscriptiones Graecae|IG II²]] 351 (dated 329 BC), records that Eudemus of Plataea gave 1000 yoke of oxen for the construction of the stadium and theater. According to Romano the "reference to the large number of oxen, indicating a vast undertaking, and the use of the word ''charadra'' have suggested the kind of building activity that would have been needed to prepare the natural valley between the two hills near the Ilissos."{{sfn|Romano|1985|p=444}} The stadium of Lykourgos is believed to have been completed for the Panathenaic Games of 330/329 BC.{{refn|<ref name="culture.gr"/><ref name="Wycherley"/><ref name="hoc history"/><ref name="Miller 2006"/><ref name="Britannica">{{cite web|last1=Abrahams|first1=Harold|authorlink1=Harold Abrahams|title=Olympic Games|url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/Olympic-Games/History-of-the-modern-Summer-Games#ref364516|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|quote=The track-and-field events were held at the Panathenaic Stadium. The stadium, originally built in 330 bce, had been excavated but not rebuilt for the 1870 Greek Olympics and lay in disrepair before the 1896 Olympics, but through the direction and financial aid of Georgios Averoff, a wealthy Egyptian Greek, it was restored with white marble.}}</ref>}} 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."<ref>{{cite book|last=Kyle|first=Donald G.|title=Athletics in Ancient Athens|date=1993|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004097599|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qw4NAn5z1lwC&pg=PA94&dq=lykourgos+panathenaic+stadium 94–95]}}</ref> According to [[Richard Ernest Wycherley]] the stadium probably had stone seating "only for a privileged few."<ref name="Wycherley"/>

[[File:The Biel Trone (Marble Chair from the Panathenaic Stadium at Athens, as Rebuilt by Herodes Atticus in AD 140-143) - British Museum.jpg|thumb|left|MarbleThe "Biel Throne", a marble chair from the stadium in the [[British Museum]].]]

A Roman marble throne from the ''prohedria'' (front row seating) of the stadium is kept in the [[British Museum]]. One side of the throne includes a relief showing an olive tree and a table on which rests set of wreaths and a [[Panathenaic amphora]]. with theThe front leg is in the form of an owl.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roman marble throne, known as 'The Biel Throne', from the prohedria of the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_2001-0508-1 |website=britishmuseum.org}}</ref> Ten similar thrones have been found around Athens.{{sfn|Cecconi|2020|p=443}}

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."{{sfn|Welch|1998|p=135}} ItsThe seats of the [[cavea]] waswere decorated with owls in relief, which symbolize [[Athena]].{{sfn|Welch|1998|p=135}} Katherine Welch wrote in a 1998 article "Greek stadia and Roman spectacles":{{sfn|Welch|1998|pp=137-138}}

The Greek government, through crown prince [[Constantine I of Greece|Constantine]], requested the Egypt-based Greek businessman [[George Averoff]], to sponsor the second refurbishment of the stadium prior to the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Olympics]].{{sfn|Young|1996|p=128}} Based on the findings of Ziller, a reconstruction plan was prepared by the architect [[Anastasios Metaxas]] in the mid-1890s.<ref name="Kakissis"/> Darling writes that "He duplicated the dimensions and design of the second-century structure, arranging the tiers of seats around the U-shaped track."{{sfn|Darling|2004|p=135}} It was rebuilt in Pentelic marble and is "distinguished by its high degree of fidelity to the ancient monument of Herodes."<ref name="hoc history"/> Averoff donated 920,000 [[GreekModern drachma|drachmas]] to this project.{{sfn|Darling|2004|p=135}}{{sfn|Young|1996|p=128}} As a tribute to his generosity, a statue of Averoff was constructed and unveiled on 5 April 1896 outside the stadium. It stands there to this day.<ref>{{cite news|title=George Averoff Dead: A Benefactor of Greece and Egypt|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/08/04/101824945.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=4 August 1899}}</ref>

The stadium held the opening and closing ceremonies of the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Olympics]].{{sfn|Young|1996|p=153}} 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 Christianity|Western]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Christian Churches]] and the anniversary of [[Greek War of Independence|Greece's independence]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Running through the Ages|last=Martin|first=David E.|author2=Gynn, Roger W. H.|year=2000|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=0-88011-969-1|chapter=The Olympic Marathon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qb125O62NVQC&q=Stamata+Revithi|oclc=42823784|pages=7–8}}</ref> The stadium was filled with an estimated 80,000 spectators, including King [[George I of Greece]], his wife [[Olga Konstantinova of Russia|Olga]], and their sons. Most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organizing committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the games.<ref>[http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1896 Athens 1896&nbsp;– Games of the I Olympiad], International Olympic Committee</ref> The stadium also served as the venue for [[Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics|Athletics]], [[Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics|Gymnastics]], [[Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics|Weightlifting]] and [[Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics|Wrestling]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The first Modern Olympic Games|url=http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/ThePanathenaicStadium/ThefirstModernOlympicGames/tabid/97/language/en-US/Default.aspx|website=panathenaicstadium.gr|publisher=[[Hellenic Olympic Committee]]|date=2011|access-date=2016-06-26|archive-date=2020-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627134043/http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/ThePanathenaicStadium/ThefirstModernOlympicGames/tabid/97/language/en-US/Default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====A.E.KHome of AEK Basketball Club home====

From the mid- to late 1960s, the stadium was used by [[AEK B.C.|AEK Basketball Club]]. On 4 April 1968, the [[1967–68 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup]] final was hosted in the stadium where A.E.K.AEK defeated [[USK Praha|Slavia VŠ Praha]] in front of around 80,000 seated spectators inside the arena and another 40,000 standing spectators. It is believed that since that game the Panathenaic Stadium holds the world record attendance for any basketball game as of 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Partizan sets crowd record at Belgrade Arena!|url=http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/45551/partizan-sets-crowd-record-at-belgrade-arena|website=euroleague.net|publisher=[[Euroleague]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615084600/http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/45551/partizan-sets-crowd-record-at-belgrade-arena|archive-date=15 June 2016|date=5 March 2009}}</ref>

The stadium "needed no major refurbishing" prior to the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in Athens.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Liz|title=The Hurdles Before the Games|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/travel/the-hurdles-before-the-games.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 July 2004}}</ref> During the games the stadium hosted the [[Archery at the 2004 Summer Olympics|archery]] competition (15–21 August) and was the finish of the [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Marathon]] for both [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon|women]] (22 August) and [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|men]] (29 August).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf |title=Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad |volume=2 |publisher=Athens Organising Committee for the Olympic Games |isbn=960-88101-8-3 |pages=237, 242, 244 |date=November 2005| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080819195306/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf| archive-date= 19 August 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Athens 2004|url=http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/ThePanathenaicStadium/Athens2004/tabid/98/language/en-US/Default.aspx|website=panathenaicstadium.gr|publisher=[[Hellenic Olympic Committee]]|date=2011|access-date=2016-06-26|archive-date=2020-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705231553/http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/ThePanathenaicStadium/Athens2004/tabid/98/language/en-US/Default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* On 5 October 2008, the stadium hosted the [[MTV Greece]] launch party, with guests [[R.E.M.]], [[Kaiser Chiefs]], [[C：Real]] and [[Gabriella Cilmi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2574602/rem-helps-welcome-mtv-greece-at-concert-in-athens|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810010528/http://www.mtv.com/news/2574602/rem-helps-welcome-mtv-greece-at-concert-in-athens/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 10, 2016|work=www.mtv.com |title=R.E.M. Help Welcome MTV Greece At Concert In Athens|date=6 October 2008}}</ref>

The stadium was the venue for the [[Dior]] Cruise 2022 show. The collection drew inspiration from Ancient Greek art and Greek folk culture as well as Christian Dior's Fall 1951 campaign photoshoot on the Acropolis. The show was attended by many A-listers, such as [[Anya Taylor-Joy]], [[Cara Delevingne]], [[Catherine DeneuveJisoo]] and many other global and Greek stars.

File:StadionPanathenaic Stadium.PNGpng|Atlas von Athen, Berlin, 1878

<ref name="Miller et al">{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Stephen G.|author-link1=Stephen G. Miller|last2=Knapp|first2=Robert C.|last3=Chamberlain|first3=David|title=The Early Hellenistic Stadium|date=2001|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520216778|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmHZWOYJ1QkC&pg=PA211&dq=lykourgos+panathenaic+stadium 211]}}</ref>

<ref name="Miller 2006">{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Stephen G.|author-link=Stephen G. Miller|title=Ancient Greek Athletics|date=2006|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300115291|page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientgreekathl00mill/page/137 <!-- quote=Panathenaic. --> 137]}}</ref>

;==Bibliography==