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Chariot Races

Chariot Races. Chariot Racing. Dates back to the 6 th century BCE Races were held in a Circus Oldest & largest circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus Most popular sport in Rome. Built in a long valley stretching between two hills Originally a sandy track with temporary markers

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Chariot Races

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  1. Chariot Races

  2. Chariot Racing • Dates back to the 6th century BCE • Races were held in a Circus • Oldest & largest circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus • Most popular sport in Rome

  3. Built in a long valley stretching between two hills • Originally a sandy track with temporary markers • Spectators sat on the hill slopes on either side of the track • Gradually developed into a well-maintained stadium-style building with a central divider • First stands were wooden, but were eventually made of stone

  4. Circus Maximus • Oldest and largest circus in Rome • Built between two hills: Aventine and the Palatine

  5. Chariots Designed to be small & lightweight Most races were run with four horse chariots

  6. Charioteers • Most began their careers as slaves • Successful charioteers could accumulate enough money to buy their freedom • Four Roman racing companies were known by the colours worn by their charioteers: Red, White, Blue & Green

  7. The chariots would start at the gates and the doors would spring open at the same time • The barrier that ran down the middle was more than just a separator. • It had decorations and trophies from parts of the empire as well as statues and working fountains. • In the center was featured an obelisk that Augustus brought back from Egypt. • It was purposely cluttered so that it blocked the spectators’ view when racers were on the other side, thus increasing the suspense.

  8. At each end of the barrier were turning posts around which the racers had to make an insanely tight turn. • At one end, the posts had seven eggs on top and at the other, seven dolphins. One of each were removed after each lap, keeping the crowd updated on how many laps were left. • Anywhere from 4 to 12 teams would race at a time

  9. Ramming other chariots and checking a chariot into the middle barrier was technically a foul, but still common and expected • The sharp turns could be disastrous with speeding chariots • The drivers also wrapped the reins around their wrists in such a way that they couldn’t get themselves loose without a special knife they carried. This is a problem if you get thrown from the chariot. • It was common to die racing in the early 20’s.

  10. Diocles Raced for 24 years, won 1,462 of 4,257 races, and made 36 million sesterces in earnings.

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