The stadium occupies the same ground as the ancient stadium, which was built under Lycurgus in the 4C B.C. and rebuilt by Herodus Atticus in 144 A.D. Ruined and turned into fields for wheat, it was rebuilt on its original plan for the Olympic Games of 1896. From the heights of its white marble tiers, which can accommodate 70,000 spectators, there is a view of the National Garden and the Acropolis.