The Panathenaic Stadium, also called Stadion Panathinaiko, was used as the Olympic stadium during the Olympic Games in 1896. These were the first modern Olympic Games. However, the stadium was not built specifically for these Olympics. In 330 BC there was a stadium where the Panathenaic games were held on the same site. This was a smaller variant of the Olympic Games hosted in Athens.
In 1895, the old stadium was rebuilt to accommodate the modern Olympic Games to be held the following year. The stadium was designed by architects Ernst Ziller and Anastasios Metaxas. At the stadium you will also find a statue of Yioryios Averof. He paid for much of the expensive marble that the building is made of. The stadium can accommodate up to 80,000 spectators. Before the renovation this was about 50,000. It is a fairly modern building compared to the many old buildings and remains that you find in Athens.
