In Rome there was a huge stadium called the Circus Maximus (Latin for largest/greatest ring/stadium).It was used to hold chariot (cart with two wheels pulled by horses) races and it was a mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy.
Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest Chariot Racing Stadium in ancient Rome. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width, and could accommodate about 250,000 people, over a quarter of the city’s population.
The Roman Circus Maximus overlooked a variety of sporting events and religions processions – but the most famous of these were the wildly popular chariot races.
At the height of the Roman Empire, these races were a manifestation of the riches of the time – anywhere between 20 and 60 days a year were devoted to them. These were not simply sporting events, however. This was Rome, after all, and no one was going to accuse them of keeping things understated.
From sunrise to sunset, Romans from every corner of the empire would travel to witness a combination of religious ceremonies, public gatherings and an average of 25 races per day. During breaks from the races, the arena also held a variety of religious ceremonies, boxing and wrestling matches – even the occasional gladiator exhibition found its way into the circus. It is presumed that the majority of Christian martyrdom in city also took place at the Roman Circus Maximus.
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The circus was founded by King Tarquinius Priscus in the 6th Century BC, the marshy valley separating Palatine hill from Aventine Hill was drained just for its construction.
Design
The Circus Maximus design included a stretched oval arena with a flat end, which was where the starting blocks where. Chariots would enter the track when metal barriers were lifted. A lavish luxury box was built high upon Palatine hill specifically for the Emperor to oversee the games.
The Circus Maximus design was lacking in one way, however, and as the city grew in population and wealth, the seating in the Circus had to grow to accommodate them.
Stone counterparts quickly replaced the initial wood seats. Caesar ordered the construction and seating was increased to 150,000 before Trajan added his augmentations to the Circus Maximus design in the first century AD – now one could find 250,000 marble encased seats along the hillside.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, however, the Circus Maximus in Rome suffered greatly. Medieval and Renaissance builders commonly looted the hills for stone and marble. The rest degenerated with time until all that is left is what we have today – legends and stories and a dirt track where the best Roman athletes once made their names.
Chariots
Most chariots were pulled by ungelded stallions; two for a biga (2-horse chariot) and four for a quadriga (4-horse chariot) Chariots completed seven circuits, marked by dolphins (sacred to Neptune, god of the sea and also of horses) and eggs (sacred to Castor and Pollux).
Charioteers wore leather helmets and jerkins (a jerkin is a man’s short close-fitting jacket made usually of light coloured leather) in the colours of their factions (green, blue, red or white).
To keep himself on the chariot the charioteer would tie the reins around himself, but if he was thrown off his chariot he would always have a sharp knife in his belt so he could cut himself lose. If you won a race you would receive a laurel reef on your head.
Factions
The races were run by groups called factions. The factions owned horse ranches and organized bets. The people attending the races bet on the factions not on the horses. Professional charioteers were hired by the factions. Each faction was identified by the colour of the tunic the charioteer wore; green, red, blue and white. One to three chariots ran for each faction.
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At the circus twelve starting boxes were available. The gates were opened simultaneously after the magistrate (a magistrate is a judge) gave the signal. During the races many wrecks occurred due to trick caused by opponents. Each race was 7 laps long. The races were always run counter-clockwise. (Not that the Romans had clocks…)
Charioteers wore little body protection and only a light helmet their practice of wrapping the reins tightly around their waists so they could use their body weight to control the horses was exceedingly dangerous in the case of accidents, since they could be dragged and trampled before they could cut themselves loose.
One famous charioteer of the second century AD, Gaius Appuleius Diocles, left a detailed record of his career. He started driving for the Whites at the age of 18 after 6 years, he switched to the Greens for 3 years, and then drove 15 years for the Reds before retiring at the age of 42. He won 1,462 of the 4,257 four-horse races in which he competed, and his winnings totalled nearly 36 million sesterces (a sesterces was a silver or bronze coin).
Diocles’ career was unusually long; many charioteers died quite young (Fuscus at 24, Crescens at 22, Aurelius Mollicius at 20).
For entertainment dog’s, ostriches or camels might be used in rome to pull the chariots around the circus
The Roman Circus Maximus overlooked a variety of sporting events and religions processions – but the most famous of these were the wildly popular chariot races.
A. porta triumphalis,
B. meta prima,
C. obeliscus ,
D. cavea,
E. spina (upon which were the ova, among other things),
F. second meta,
G. linea alba,
H. harena,
I. tower,
J. box above the porta pompae for the dator ludorum,
K. an arrow drawn through the porta pompae, and
L. three of the carceres.
Praecinctiones = Curved passages and low walls which separated the sections
Cunei= The main sections were subdivided into wedges (wedge-shaped sections) called cunei
Gradus = Rows of seats
Podium = the podium was the terrace, a broad platform about 15ft wide, situated at the top of the wall, which surrounded the arena and afforded the best views of the arena. The seating on the podium was moveable seats, or chairs
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This is what the Circus Maximus’s raceway would have looked like as you can see it was very long and not too wide.
This is where the 12 charioteers would come out of before each race.
The obelisk of pink Aswan granite that now stands in the Piazza di Montecitorio, though not the largest of Rome’s ancient obelisks (that distinction belongs to the obelisk at the Lateran), is perhaps the most interesting, and the inscription on its base gives the essentials of Rome’s long-standing and continuing fascination with these counters of power and axial mark
The last race held in the Circus Maximus was in 549 AD. This was nearly a full millennium after the track was first constructed.
