Panathinaiko Stadium - Athens 1896 - Modern Olympic Venues on Waymarking.com

The 1896 Summer Olympics were the first modern international Olympic Games to be organized by the International Olympic Committee. They were held between Monday, April 6 and Wednesday, April 15, 1896. The games were held in the Panathinaiko (Panathenaic) Stadium in Athens, which is the only major stadium in the world completely built of white marble.

According to Wikipedia: "An 1894 congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris established the International Olympic Committee and appointed the Greek capital of Athens as the host city."

"Although the number of participating athletes was low by current standards, it had the largest international participation for any sports event to that date. In spite of the absence of many of the time's top athletes, the Games were a success with the Greek public. The athletic highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spiridon Louis. The most successful competitor in terms of victories was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann."

"After the Games, De Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by, among others, Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens to hold all following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris and, barring the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics."

Also according to Wikipedia: The Panathinaiko Stadium was used in ancient times "to host the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games in honour of the Goddess Athena." The stadium was refurbished "in 1895 for the 1896 Summer Olympics, with completion funding provided by the Greek benefactor George Averoff (whose marble statue now stands at the entrance), based on designs by architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller. The stadium was built long before dimensions for athletics venues were standardized and its track and layout follow the ancient hairpin-like model. It can seat about 80,000 spectators on 50 rows of marble steps."

"In the 2004 Olympic Games, the Panathinaiko Stadium hosted the archery competition, and the finish of the Marathon. The stadium was featured on all of the Summer Olympic medals introduced in the 2004 Games, and will be continued to be featured on the medals awarded at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing."

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