Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Statue of the Buddha in the main temple
Gadaladeniya Viharaya
McClellan Falls
McClellan Falls
Kraken Habitat
Skye Textile Mill
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Caru' cu Bere
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Inside the Rothko Chapel
These Monuments Showcase the Beauty of Brutalism
1 day ago
Aerial view of Pulau Tiga
The Original ‘Survivor’ Island Changed Television Forever
2 days ago
Obscura Day Summer 2025: Roaming among Assateague's feral island ponies
2 days ago
The main reading room of the Athenaeum.
Obscura Day Summer 2025: Literary Landmarks Across Providence
2 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Greece Athens Panathenaic Stadium Passage
AO Edited

Panathenaic Stadium Passage

Gladiators once walked this ancient, subterranean passage.

Athens, Greece

Added By
Will
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Passageway   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Passageway   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to passageway   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
View entering the stadium from the passageway.   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Stadium   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Slight curve in stands to maximize viewing from the seats   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Olympic torch and poster exhibit   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
Display about battle of Marathon and legend of the first marathon runner   dangerscuba / Atlas Obscura User
The end of the passage   davidoterobea / Atlas Obscura User
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Hidden beneath the Panathenaic Stadium, the world's only stadium built entirely out of marble, is a secret, ancient passage used by ancient gladiators and modern athletes. The passageway, known as the diodos, is a long, vaulted gallery that dates back to antiquity.

The Panathenaic Stadium has gone through many iterations through the centuries. Greek statesman Lykourgos first built a simple, limestone racecourse on the site in 330 BC for the first Panathenaic Games, a festival featuring athletic competitions, rituals, and religious ceremonies held in ancient Athens. The Games were held every four years in honor of the Greek goddess Athena. Several centuries later, around 140, Athenian Roman senator Herodes Atticus had the racecourse rebuilt in marble and expanded it to fit 50,000 spectators. Soon after that, by the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the stadium fell into disuse until the 19th century.

Beginning in the 1830s, following Greek independence, archaeological excavations began on the stadium. German-born architect Ernst Ziller carried out later excavations around 1870. The stadium was refurbished and used in the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875, an early attempt to revive the Olympic Games. Then, in 1896, the stadium hosted the first modern Olympics.

The subterranean passageway is located on the east side of the ancient stadium. Even before Lykourgos built the first limestone racecourse, ancient masons constructed this passageway leading to the ravine where the stadium would later be built. Known as the "Hole of Fate," ancient oracles used the passage. Spiritual leaders also walked through the passage before holding ritual animal sacrifices in the ravine. In Roman times, gladiators passed through the tunnel before fighting in the marble-clad stadium. After the stadium fell into disuse, European travelers wrote about young Athenian maidens performing magical rites in the derelict passage.

Today the tunnel leads to a museum featuring torches and posters from all the modern Olympic Games. Every two years, for the winter and summer Olympic Games, the Olympic torch is lit in Olympia, Greece before making its way to the Panathenaic Stadium for the official handover ceremony where the torch is passed to the official hosting city.

Besides the passage, the impressive oval stadium has several interesting details, including curved seating and carved thrones.  Here visitors can walk the stands and run the track where the first modern Olympics occurred. 

Related Tags

Ancient Ancient Greece Olympics Gladiators History Sports

Know Before You Go

The stadium is located opposite the statue of Myron Discobolus. The stadium steps can be slick when wet and are quite steep. Tickets are required to visit. The stadium also offers great views of the Acropolis.

 

Community Contributors

Added By

dangerscuba

Edited By

gwmasse, davidoterobea

  • gwmasse
  • davidoterobea

Published

March 6, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://whyathens.com/events/olympic-flame-panathenaic-stadium-athens/
  • https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/36293402/Trakadas_Alexandria_Troas_2011-libre.pdf?1421434608=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DAlexandria_Troas_Stadium_Survey_Report_o.pdf&Expires=1677523539&Signature=dKld1gDDVl06WedGc7Cn8E-lJf8Zb7Dr~IamobJptNDfTKB24RZ-qw7duwCNZ9Fkxj6Ln22xIGmivgJFN3YFP78gJC6NPq8UhNmQYwgi22b-Kv2dsf5iKoWVsupyfpuTODzaBfyqHmMEVRdneRTOK36kMBpnngvsUJ9HIXh1qiYdZmFOc8WEJ4cKFgokOqBwBkWngPCHZZNIIbS8pTCyeexk9zXbH0sviAc8B-WpkLrKku7M8K0smpPKRb~hnWBu4FUs4uJTKrbMC4tkS4l8feu7DvzCvQshY8i-Eb4KUGeepTStUlaWfP~8N45fEHR7U1ZDB0iE5d69KoWf9lNODg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
  • https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Panathenaic_Stadium/twwNAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Panathenaic+Stadium%22+passage+diodos&dq=%22Panathenaic+Stadium%22+passage+diodos&printsec=frontcover
  • http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/ThePanathenaicStadium/History/tabid/96/language/en-US/Default.aspx
  • https://www.greece-is.com/the-mysteries-of-ardittos-hill/
  • https://www.thisisathens.org/antiquities/panathenaic-stadium
  • https://www.discovergreece.com/experiences/panathenaic-stadium-athens-kallimarmaro
Panathenaic Stadium Passage
Leof. Vasileos Konstantinou
Athens, 116 35
Greece
37.968334, 23.741112
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Garden of the Presidential Mansion

Athens, Greece

miles away

Temple of Artemis Agrotera

Athens, Greece

miles away

Zappeion

Athens, Greece

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Athens

Athens

Greece

Places 80
Stories 4

Nearby Places

Garden of the Presidential Mansion

Athens, Greece

miles away

Temple of Artemis Agrotera

Athens, Greece

miles away

Zappeion

Athens, Greece

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Athens

Athens

Greece

Places 80
Stories 4

Related Places

  • The museum is located within the larger Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    Jim Thorpe Museum

    This small museum inside a larger sports complex honors the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S., and his life of achievement and struggle.

  • Korea’s only Western national treasure.

    Seoul, South Korea

    Son Kee Chung’s Greek Helmet

    This ancient Corinthian helmet is South Korea’s only national treasure of Western origin.

  • The Flavian Amphitheater

    Pozzuoli, Italy

    Flavian Amphitheater of Pozzuoli

    Italy's third-largest Roman arena gives a peek into the underground operations beneath the ancient spectacles.

  • A scene from the beauty contest between Cassiopeia and the Nereids seen in the House of Aion.

    Paphos, Cyprus

    The Mosaics of Paphos

    The ancient mosaics here are considered among the finest in the world, and serve as a stunning record of Greco-Roman daily life.

  • Istria, Romania

    Ancient City of Histria

    Once a thriving Greek port, now a windswept ruin lost to time.

  • York, Pennsylvania

    Weightlifting Hall of Fame

    Take a walk through the history of strength sports—from the early Olympic Games to modern day.

  • Walking into the Oxford is like stepping back in time.

    Denver, Colorado

    The Cruise Room Bar

    This swanky speakeasy is Denver’s oldest bar—and hasn’t changed a bit since 1933.

    Sponsored by Visit Denver
  • Turkey

    Ancient City of Magnesia

    These ancient ruins include a stadium dating back to 400 BC.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.