The Panathenaic Stadium was built by Lycurgus, a statesman who wanted to enhance the prestige of the Great Panathenaic Games (330 BCE). This was a private site and the state spent significant sums to develop it and build the road that connected it to downtown Athens. The seats were made of wood and the timber came from the naval shipyards of Piraeus. During the reign of Hadrian (2nd century CE) the stadium hosted games with more than 1000 wild animals. A few years later the wealthy Athenian Herodes Atticus (who was born in Marathon) financed the rebuilding of the stadium with Pentelic marble (an expensive material whose supply was exhausted as a result of this project).