ABSTRACT
At the first ever meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Paris in 1884 the honour of staging the inaugural Olympic Games was awarded to Athens, Greece. Chaired by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the IOC considered that Athens had historical credibility and a recent history of staging major athletics events, the so-called Zappas Olympics.
It also had a potential venue. The Panathenaic Games of Ancient Greece had been held in a remodelled natural ravine from around 340 BCE. This was enlarged and reconstructed in marble in the second century AD, but by the early 19th century there was little remaining apart from the foundations.
Later that century, however, funds were raised to revive the ancient stadium. For the 1896 Games this became a total reconstruction of the original stadium in the original marble, overseen by the design team of Ernst Ziller and Anastasios Metaxas.
Although these Games were acknowledged to be a great success, the stadium proved to be too small for modern athletics. It is still the venue where the Olympic Flame is handed over to begin its journey to the next host city. The archery competitions and the finish of the marathon also took place here during the 2004 Summer Games.
