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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolverine GTR" data-source="post: 18314969" data-attributes="member: 158020">නූතන_ඔලිම්පික්_උපන්_තැන-The Birthplace of Modern Olympics- The first modern Olympic Games was held in the summer of 1896 in the  Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, that saw the participation of 241  athletes from 14 nations. It was the largest international sporting  event till date, and the Panathinaiko Stadium, which had a capacity of  80,000 at that time, overflowed with the largest crowd ever. The main  events of the competition were athletics, gymnastics, weightlifting and  wrestling, with the highlight being the marathon, held for the first  time in international competition, and won by a Greek and the only  sporting event to be won by the host. But the stadium’s history goes far  beyond the 19th century. Indeed, it is one of the oldest stadiums in  the world.    <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1pIeKtcEwdA/VUnqmsCS0yI/AAAAAAABBv4/jDU4Z1pB3oc/panathenaic-stadium-6%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> The  current Panathenaic Stadium is believed to be located on the site of an  ancient stadium that hosted the Panathenaic Games, modeled after the  ancient Olympic Games and held every four years in honor of the Goddess  Athena. The games incorporated religious festival, ceremony and cultural  events, aside from athletic competitions such as boxing, wrestling,  mock infantry and cavalry battles, javelin throw on horseback, and a  peculiar chariot racing where the driver had to jump out of the chariot,  run alongside, and jump back in. These games started in 566 BC and  continued into the 3rd century CE.    Originally the stadium was a  small natural valley between the two hills of Agra and Ardettos, the  slopes of which were fitted with wooden seating for the spectators. It  was transformed into a proper stadium built completely with marble in  329 BC, by Lycurgus when he assumed responsibility for the finances of  Athens.    Between 140 and 144 AD, the stadium was enlarged and  renovated by Herodes Atticus, who spent part of his vast fortune on  erecting splendid buildings in many sanctuaries and cities around the  Roman Empire. Herodes changed the original rectilinear shape of the  stadium to a horseshoe shape, characteristic of Greek stadia in Roman  times, and installed rows of seats of white marble. A vaulted passage  under the east retaining wall terminated at the back of the stadium. A  triple-arched marble bridge spanning the the Ilissos River provided  access to the stadium from the city. The whole space, and primarily the  portico at the level of the sphendone, was adorned with statues of  marble, bronze and even gold. The Athenians were justly proud of the  Panathenaic Stadium, which was unrivalled in the world.    <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vfI8kCKGM8k/VUnqn9fSKvI/AAAAAAABBwA/A-xTdyxaItY/panathenaic-stadium-1%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />    (The first-ever photograph of an Olympic event: The 100m sprint event of the 1896 Athens Olympics.)    After  the fall of the Roman Empire, the stadium gradually fell into  disrepair. It wasn’t until 1,500 years later that Greek philanthropist  and businessman Evangelos Zappas provided the funds to excavate and  refurbish the stadium as part of a goal to revive the Olympic Games.  Panathenaic could not be made ready in time for the first Olympic Games  in 1859, and it had to be held in a city square in central Athens. But  by the time for the 1870 games, Panathenaic was restored with wooden  beaches having a seating capacity of 30,000. The stadium went on to host  the 1875 and 1888-89 games as well.    Unfortunately, Evangelos  Zappas didn’t live to see any of the games at the Panathenaic, but the  immense fortune he left behind made it possible for the Panathenaic to  undergo a second repair. This time the wooden seats were removed and  replaced with white marble, just like in the original stadium. The  International Olympic Committee was created in 1894 and the first modern  Olympic Games was held here in 1896. Panathenaic held its second  Olympic Games in 2004. The archery finals took place here, and the  marathon race terminated inside the stadium. It’s unlikely, that the  Panathenaic will ever held athletic events as its running tracks are  curved at awkward angles that doesn’t conform to today’s standards.  Today, the stadium regularly holds musical concerts. <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xVwT9RjQiZI/VUnqo5teChI/AAAAAAABBwI/GjAecCYV6cQ/panathenaic-stadium-2%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iNC6ucxm3Mg/VUnqq-LA3YI/AAAAAAABBwQ/7OCVpsLMlGM/panathenaic-stadium-4%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OtvkFyddBK4/VUnqsI2ySnI/AAAAAAABBwY/WsD9hWiG9eY/panathenaic-stadium-7%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0xiWGJJ8BLQ/VUnqtAsPKxI/AAAAAAABBwg/hFmFIN50gW4/panathenaic-stadium-10%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--V-RX1llBes/VUnquQdIqwI/AAAAAAABBwo/ul_C1r9UAuA/panathenaic-stadium-11%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QyHBNy3zh-k/VUnqvSlG62I/AAAAAAABBww/cpDCd_Q2dk4/panathenaic-stadium-12%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fRJnDd0LkLI/VUnqwlzRvCI/AAAAAAABBw4/uqF4B8Damzs/panathenaic-stadium-5%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> (The Olympic flame for the London 2012 Summer Games was handed over to  the British delegation at the Panathenaic Stadium of Athens, Greece on  May 17) <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jfaznklAl5k/VUnqxhuVYKI/AAAAAAABBxA/6n1dfcQq09o/panathenaic-stadium-3%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6GGGIac4uZ0/VUnqylbBNAI/AAAAAAABBxI/N6_Zf_KfeQ8/panathenaic-stadium-9%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> (A rainy night at the Panathenaic Stadium devoted to Stelios Kazantzidis) <img src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FxdMwO5ZirA/VUnqzsl0-DI/AAAAAAABBxQ/kbnTAejHCzU/panathenaic-stadium-13%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></blockquote>

Verification: Hathara warak wissa keeyada? (Hathara wadi karanna 20)

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