Olympic Stadium (Panathenaic Stadium)
Sightseeing in Athens picture - The Panathenaic Stadium was built on Ardittus hill next to the Ilissos river. In 330 BC Lykourgos built this stadium of stone. In 140 AD Herod Atticus renovated it, adding marble and a majestic Propylaia. The track has a length of 204 m. and a width of 33.36 m. The course was marked out by herms instead of ordinary distance markers. The herms were square columns with the busts of Dionysios and Apollon. In 1896, with the revival of the institution of the Olympic Games, the first games were held here 1,500 years after the final ancient Olympic games.