The World of Chariots
Chariot Racing, popular public game in the classical world of ancient Greece and Rome, in which horses pulled a two-wheeled chariot, or small cart, driven by a charioteer. Often the chariot driver stood in the chariot, rather than sitting.
A chariot driver cracks his whip to encourage his horses. Chariot racing was a popular pastime in ancient Greece and Rome and was recorded as an event in the ancient Olympic Games.
At the ancient Olympic Games, which began in 776 bc, the chariot race was often the first and most spectacular of the events. The course consisted of 12 double laps, nearly 14 km (9 mi) in all. The most important race was for teams of four horses controlled by one driver. The owners of these teams were nobles, and the victory wreaths were awarded to the owners. By the early 7th century bc there were also professional charioteers from the lower classes. Greek chariots were light, two-wheeled vehicles driven with the driver standing up. Accidents were frequent, and emotions often reached a high pitch. Greek lyric poet Pindar, who sometimes wrote victory odes for the owners of winning teams, tells of one race in which 40 teams were entered but only one finished. Chariot racing was a popular theme in Greek art, appearing in sculpture, vase painting, and engravings on coins.
Chariot racing in the Roman Empire was significantly different than it had been under the Greeks. Racing stables were distinguished by the color that their drivers and horses wore. Red and white were the older colors, but green and blue gradually eclipsed them, eventually overtaking them entirely. Interest in chariot racing centered on the victory of the color rather than on the skill of the driver or the quality of the horses. Political and even religious importance came to be attached to the colors.
Chariot drivers were commoners, freedmen, or slaves who had been professionally trained from boyhood. If successful, their prestige and earnings were tremendous; unlike the Greeks, the Romans regularly awarded monetary prizes. Roman satirical poet Juvenal remarked that a certain charioteer earned a hundred times the salary of a lawyer. Honorary inscriptions in stone recorded many interesting facts about both drivers and horses.
The most prized horses came from Libya, Sicily, Spain, Thessaly, Armenia, Parthia, and Cappadocia. A team of four horses controlled by one driver was the most common, although races were run with teams of as many as ten or as few as two horses.
Question : Who were the spectators at Roman games? Discuss the relationship between them and the performers they watched.
Many events took place at the historical Colosseum. Most of the events that were scheduled involved either death and/or destruction. A few of the events were chariot racing, the feeding of Christians to lions, and gladiator fights. At a causality rate nearly 50% died each ‘show’. The chariot racing, which was very popular with the Romans, was held at the Circus Maximus and was seen as a family event. Many people today see Roman entertainment as cruel, but not all forms of entertainment
held in what was called The Circus Maximus. The chariot races held in the Circus Maximus were
As the main performers of the most popular entertainment in a war plagued world, gladiators are often perceived to live a very tragic, wasted life- one that is filled with risks and danger at every turn. But even so, it is an opportunity for the people to rise above social barriers and ultimately became superstars. Few emerged glorious, and those who do must face a cruel path in their everyday life. Follow along on the journey of the success and failures of Ancient Roman gladiators, as we trace the beginning of the gruesome sport, the gladiator’s daily life, hardship, as well as the stories of the l...
Roman gladiators are often recalled when thinking of the Roman civilization for several reasons, including the extreme brutality of the gladiatorial games that took place. These games took place at funerals and ceremonies, as an offering of blood.
The Circus Maximus has a lot of history due to all of the events that had happened over the years of the Circus Maximus, the concept of chariots speeding around a track to see which horse would come in first. A chariot was a two wheeled, horse drawn vehicle. It was invented in the west in about 2,000 BC. The Circus Maximus started in approximately 50 BC. The Circus Maximus was first used for public games and entertainment by the Etruscan king of Rome. He built the Circus Maximus and made it out of complete wood. It measured 621 meters in length and 150 meters in width. It was capable of holding about 270,000 spectators to watch the races ("Circus Maximus princeton.edu") In 81 AD, Emperor Domitian connected his new palace on the Palatine to the Circus Maximus so he could have an easier view of the races. This happened to be a large action because they had to change around the whole racing course to fit in his window where he could watch. In 64 BC, they had a fire started from ...
When fights occurred they were usually to the death, gladiators had a short life expectanc, although it was in some respects a glamorous profession, the majority of fighters were slaves, former slaves or condemned prisoners. Without doubt, gladiator spectacles were one of the most popular entertainment in the Roman world and was probably the most watched.
Gladiatorial combat originated in 700 B.C. during the Etruscan Empire. “The origins of the sport may lie in Etruscan slave fights, which were fought to the death to please the gods and to enhance the reputations of the slaves ' owners. The Romans incorporated the tradition into their funeral ceremonies, beginning in 264 B.C. with that of Junius Brutus Pera 's” (Lidz n.pag). As the games became more popular, “the fascination of the games lay in the transformation of the despicable and the lowly into objects of admiration (since the socially outcast gladiators were held in high popular regard)” (Fagan 17). On the surface, gladiatorial combat in the Roman Empire demonstrated an artistic spectacle of brute dominance and great pride on the battlefield.
The Greeks actually had a sprint of about 190 metres called the stadion in the ancient Olympics, which was a sprint down a straight track and back again. The technology of the day consisted of nothing more than a wooden post at one end to help the runner on his return back up the track. Races originally began with the athletes standing upright, with their toes resting in grooves in a stone starting sill - hence the expression "toe the line". False starts were punished by flogging from a judge standing behind the athletes. Later it seems that a starting gate (called the husplex) was used, much like that used in horse-racing today.
Much like today’s athletes gladiators competed with one another to decide a victor and is a form of entertainment for people spectating. But Gladiators competed much different than professional athletes do today. Gladiators were forced to fight for the entertainment of others and were considered slaves (“ The Roman Gladiator”). Gladiators did not just fight for friendly sport either they had to fight to the death. This made the gladiatorial games so exciting for the people watching. The people loved to watch others fight and the gore that they would see while the gladiators were fighting. It may sound horrible in today’s society but back then it was the most prominent form of entertainment. Different from today’s athletes and entertainers, gladiators were slaves and were told what to do against their will. Much of the gladiators were slaves, criminals, and prisoners of war. Gladiatorial games were mostly held by the Roman Republic and forced there enemy’s to fight for their lives in the...
Track and field during the victorian era was very similar to present day with many of the same events.Track and field's line of events is from ancient athletic festivals in Greece and the British Isles. Both the original Olympics in ancient Greece and the Celtic Tailteann Games date back to around the ninth century BCE. These games played host to the best athletes throughout the world, who competed in running, jumping, and throwing events in addition to wrestling, archery, and the greeks had swimming.. Professional track and field had no regulation, with many athletes making a living by their skill and talent. There are multiple stories of sprinters who would travel from town to town in disguise, pretending that they had no talent in racing and then persuaded many local people to compete with them and sometimes spectators would place bets against them. Often the races would be handicapped events, meaning the locals were given a rough 5–10 yards' head start in a 100-yard dash. During this way the athletes were able to make a substantial living. Long distance races were also very common, often the races were promoted heavily for extra money. Though cheating happened frequently, the professional sport still had...
There is, literally, a rainbow of colors horses come in. Some of the most common colors are bay (brown with black legs, mane, and tail), brown, chestnut (a subdued golden red color), black, and gray (darkish white). Some of the less common are palomino, liver chestnut (dark chestnut), bright chestnut (a very bright golden red color), pinto (piebald being black and white and skewbald being brown or tan and white), dun (tan with black legs, mane, and t...
Horseback riding can be traced back more than 15,000 years. The Romans used horses for chariot racing during Medieval Times. Jousting was another sport used during the Medieval Times. Thus consisted of horses running face to face and the riders, with swords, fighting to the riders death. Equines were used for transportation as well as part of war and agriculture. Indians used horses for transportation more than 3,000 years ago. Farmers used horses to plow fields for crops, before the invention of tractors and plows. Equines were used for many forms of transportation, such as delivering mail and hauling wagons for moving families. Arabians (the breed) were used for endurance, in the desert, because of the horses high stamina and excessive strength with lack of water. Draft horses were used for farming and and plowing. Because of their size, they can haul and pull more weight than an ordinary horse ("The Use of Horses," n.d.).
Ancient Olympics The ancient Olympics had some differences from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Women where not allowed to even watch the games on penalty of death let alone play in them.. Also, the games were always held at Olympia in Greece instead of being moved around to different sites every time. But also they had some similarities to our modern Olympics, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map, and became financially sound for life. The conflict between the Olympic's ideals of sportsmanship and unity and the commercialism and political acts which accompany the Games where also present in ancient times. "Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans."