On April 6, 1896, Athens hosted the opening of the first modern Olympic Games, marking a revival of an ancient Greek tradition on its historic soil.

The event was officially opened by King George I of Greece before a crowd of approximately 60,000 spectators gathered at the Panathenaic Stadium—an all-marble structure originally built in 330 BC and restored for the occasion.

Organized by the newly established International Olympic Committee (IOC), founded in 1894 by French historian Pierre de Coubertin, the Athens Games featured 280 male athletes from 13 nations. They competed in 43 events across nine sports, including athletics, gymnastics, swimming, cycling, tennis, and wrestling. Athens was chosen unanimously as the host city, as a symbolic nod to Greece’s ancient Olympic roots.

One of the most memorable events was the marathon, a race inspired by the legendary run of the soldier Pheidippides from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to announce a Greek victory over the Persians. The first modern race followed a similar route of approximately 40 kilometers (nearly 25 miles), though the now-standard 26.2-mile distance was later established at the 1908 London Games.

The 1896 marathon concluded with a dramatic and symbolic victory for Greece, as 23-year-old Spyridon Louis, a former water carrier from the (then village) of Marousi who crossed the finish line to a thunderous ovation. His come-from-behind win turned him into a Greek national hero and remains one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

See historic images from the first modern Olympic Games