Greece Vacation #7: Ed's Spirit Tosses Me a Coin at Olympic Stadium

In today's blog, you'll read about a sign from a special spirit and learn about the Olympic Games Stadium in Athens, Greece!

(Photo: Tom and Rob at the Ancient Greek Olympic Stadium. Credit; R.G) 

A SPIRIT VACATIONS WITH US -  For those who know me, know I have a gift to communicate with people who passed, and one special spirit loves to come along on vacation. His name is Ed, and he is Tom's late partner who has made himself known on other vacations from England to Italy. He already helped us out in the Chicago airport, and now he let me know he's made the trip to Greece. (You can read about him in my book "Kindred Spirits" by Rob Gutro -on Amazon). 

(Photo: A statue of a greek athlete we found across the street from the stadium. Credit: R.G)

Ed became known for his love of coins. He called his coins for coffee "Jingle Java," and co-workers made him a tin can bank with those words. As such he has tossed us coins whenever we've thought of him. As we were walking with the group to the Athens Olympic Park Stadium, I felt like I had to look down and there in front of me was a coin! I knew it was from Ed, because I hadn't looked down the entire time I was in the country. That's how it works - spirits can influence you to do things, and he did. 

(Photo: the Coin Ed Sent us in Athens to let us know he was with us. Credit. R.G.) 

WHAT IS THE OLYMPIC STADIUM?  The Panathenaic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. One of the main historic attractions of Athens,  it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble!

  A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos (Lycurgus) c. 330 BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats.

WHAT CAUSED IT TO BE ABANDONED?  The rise of Christianity in the 4th century caused it to be abandoned when Greek gods became a thing of the past. 

(Our photo of the stadium from across the street. Credit: R.Gutro)

A STADIUM REBORN - The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon.  It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place

NEXT: ONTO THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS