Panathenaic Stadium: The birthplace of Modern Olympics 120 years ago

One hundred and twenty years since the celebration of the first Olympic Games of the modern era, the Panathenaic Stadium remains a universal symbol of the spirit of healthy competitive sport, but also an everlasting monument stirring international attention, with thousands of tourists to pay daily a visit to admire it, 

Built totally of white Pentelic marble at the exact point of Athens’ ancient Athens Stadium, designed by Herodes Atticus, the "Kallimarmaro" as Greeks call it, spreads its glamour even in our days, since it still remains the hosting place of manifold sporting and cultural events. The peak of its irradiation remains the celebration of the Olympic Flame both for the Summer and Winter Games.

But how many know its story? How many actually know that the Panathenaic Stadium may not have been built at all?

The problems started almost immediately after the International Sports Council in Paris took the decision on June 15, 1894 to bestow the first edition of the modern Olympic Games in Athens. Albeit the great enthusiasm and the stirring of the Greek people, the prospect the Athens Organizing Committee not to be able to meet the financial and preparative requirements led the same body to change its mind on October 28 and retreat from assigning the organization to Greece.

According to the historian Byron Davos, "this raised indignation" to the public opinion.  "The press and the people embarked immediately on a crusade to convince the committee to respect the initial decision. It took a long struggle to change the opinion of the board, which in a special session embraced again the first decision, "he states in his book “The Olympics 1896 in Athens "(1987).

Of course, the construction of the new stadium had a central role in the performance of the whole organization. According to the initial plans, the Stadium, was arranged on the basis of Herod Atticus designs, was meant to be a temporary construction, made mostly of wood, except of some parts of the arena and the field .The wooden seats would host 10,000 spectators, with a provision for 2,500 seats for the officials. Outside the premises it was scheduled to be constructed "barracks with artistic shows, cafes and restaurants and was planned the leveling of a broad open place", adds the historian.

However, the start of the construction works confronted many other problems. A serious one was the appearance of many proprietors of the terrains on which the Stadium was designed to be built. Urgent law provisions dealt with it, but then other problems had arisen that delayed that construction works. The political situation after reformer prime minister Charilaos Trikoupis' defeat in the elections of 16/04/1895 brought yet more delays in the projects, provoking ironic comments from the New York.

Catalyst for completion

The catalyst for the completion of the Panathenaic Stadium was the generous sponsorship of the Egypt-based Greek magnate George Averof, who donated 585, 000 drachmas. The construction of the Stadium was redesigned on a new basis and new plans.

According to the new blue prints, the Stadium was not supposed to be a temporary construction, merely for the Games, but it would be built entirely of marble, constituting henceforward "a permanent athletic stadium and for the following years." Expressing its gratitude, the committee decided the erection of the statue of Averof in front of the stadium, entrusting the sculpture to professor C. Drossos.

Works in the construction site of the stadium began on 30/06/1895. In parallel with the construction,  in situ excavations brought to light the parts of the ancient Stadium, that instead of hindering the progress of the work, it facilitated its shaping in the form we know it today. However, the dark clouds did not leave the horizon, since the current political condition and the delays registered by the observers, and voices multiplied on a new postponement of the Olympics for next year.

Yet on March 25, 1896, although the Stadium was completed only by one third, the Games kicked off and up to the closing ceremony on April 3, more than 50,000 spectators had enthusiastically soared to the stadium. The Athenians joy peaked on March 29 when the first Marathon winner, the Greek Spyros Louis, entered the Stadium, reviving the epic achievement of the ancient runner Fidippides.

Ever since, the Panathenaic Stadium a number of great moments, all of them linked to the recent history of Greece, took place in the Kallimarmaro. The train of circumstances, the generosity and the persistence of some people to the spirit of the Olympic Games and its ideals, contributed that the Stadium is the monument which the visitors still see: not only the image and embodiment of the Olympic Spirit but also of the Peace and Brotherhood thoughout the world.

George-Byron Davos

Source: ANA-MPA

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