ABSTRACT
Today, ancient stadia (that is, the Greek stadion and the hippodromos as well as
the Roman circus and the amphitheatrum, Figures 2.1 and 2.2) are perceived as
places of architectural ingenuity which attract a large number of visitors inter
ested in history. Moreover, in modern times ancient stadia have continuously
been used for a wide variety of spectacles such as theatrical performances, con
certs and athletic competitions. In 1896, for example, the ancient Panathenaic
stadion in Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games and the shotput com
petition was performed in the ancient stadion of Olympia when the Games came
back to Greece in 2004 (Kratzmüller 2005: 117-20).
