Athens hosted the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games.
The inaugural modern Games opened in Athens on 6 April 1896, during the Greek national holiday marking the start of the Greek War of Independence. The event was organized under the newly created International Olympic Committee, whose leading founder was French educator Pierre de Coubertin. Greece was chosen partly because ancient Olympia and Greek athletic traditions inspired the revival.
About 241 athletes competed, and all competitors were men under the rules of the time. Participants came from 14 countries according to the commonly used historical count, although national representation was less formal than at later Olympics. Events included athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The Games used the Panathenaic Stadium, rebuilt in white marble. Marathon runner Spyridon Louis became Greece’s most celebrated victor by winning the inaugural Olympic marathon. Paris hosted the second modern Games in 1900, so Athens is distinct as the location of the first.