by Caroline Lawrence, author of The Roman Mysteries
2. Unlike the heavy chariots used in most Hollywood depictions, (including all the Ben Hur films), racing chariots were very light and small. They needed to go as fast as possible, and were probably made of wicker and leather. Driving one would have been like surfing a basket on wheels.
3. Most chariots were pulled by ungelded stallions; two for a biga (2-horse chariot) and four for a quadriga (4-horse chariot). As many as 12 teams ran in each race.
|Re-enactor from Nîmes should have reins round his waist|
5. 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).
|Charioteer of the Blue faction from Ostia|
7. Some charioteers began training while they were still children, and many stars of the hippodrome would have been in their teens.
8. A charioteer or horse who had won over a thousand races was called a miliarius.
9. Chariot racing was the most popular spectator sport in ancient Rome – even more popular than gladiatorial combats. Races were not held every day, but only on special occasions or festival days.
10. The Circus represented the Cosmos and every aspect of the hippodrome was symbolic:
The obelisk on the spina (central island) represented the sun.
The water of the euripus (canal in the spina) represented the sea.
The race track itself represented the earth around the sea.
The 4 faction colours represented the four seasons:
(red = summer, blue = autumn, white = winter, green = spring)
The 7 laps the horses had to run represented the days of the week.
The 12 carceres (starting gates) represented the months of the year.
The 24 races held per day represented the hours of the day.
(Yes, Romans divided their days into 24 hours, too)
11. Boys called sparsores had the dangerous job of running onto the track to sprinkle water on the track to keep down the blinding, choking dust. They got the water from the central reservoir and used pots, bowls or water skins to sprinkle it. It was a dangerous job and they sometimes got trampled.
12. Winners in a chariot race received three things:
A palm branch to symbolise victory.
A 'crown' (usually a wreath) also standing for victory.
A purse of money as a prize to be spent, perhaps split between charioteer and the owner of the faction.