It was a short walk from our hotel (which was located right next to the Acropolis, and consequently, the Acropolis Museum) to the Panathenaic Stadium, the historic site of ancient Games.
In ancient times, the stadium on this site was used to host the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games, in honor of the Goddess Athena. During classical times, it had wooden seating. In 329 BC it was rebuilt in marble by the archon Lycurgus and in 140 AD was enlarged and renovated by Herodes Atticus, giving a seated capacity of 50,000.
The remnants of the ancient structure were excavated and refurbished for the Olympic Games that were held there in 1870 and 1875. In 1895 the stadium was refurbished a second time for the 1896 Olympics.
I had fairly low expectations for the afternoon. It was raining afterall, and as the sort of people who had paid exactly enough attention to the just past winter Olympics to have seen five minutes of Curling on a television in a bar in Spain, we're just not that into it.
But, the stadium far surpassed expectation and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The entire thing is built of white marble. Not surprisingly, the only one in the world so constructed.
That's Jeff and Tom wandering off under the umbrella. It wasn't terribly crowded, considering that it is a major tourist attraction.
While I would have liked to have seen it in the bright sun, I'm really glad we didn't let the rain keep us in our hotel room. It probably helped that the room did not have wifi. Yeah, no wifi!
Wet, slippery marble, steep, steep steps. Irresistable.
We win no medals for 'originality' for this shot:
And the children specifically requested to be photographed in motion. I like this shot because I made the cut. Ok, I didn't make the cut, my Lipizzaner umbrella made the cut.
For the win.
The stadium is still regularly used and is the end point for the annual Athens Marathon, a fitting tribute: Athens Marathon. As inviting as that sounds, I love the Half Marathon distance. Another full is not on my dance card at this point in time.
Maybe someday though. It is tempting.
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