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A Chariot Racing Day in the Roman Times
The Circus Maximus was the oldest and the largest of all the circuses
where chariot races took place holding up to 250, 000 spectators. It
was traditionally founded in the sixth century BC by Tarquinius
Priscus, the fifth king of Rome. In 329 BC, permanent starting gates
were constructed and, in 174 BC, that they were rebuilt and seven
large wooden eggs were set up to indicate the completion of each lap.
The track was originally formed by the low ground of the valley.
Inside, the track was covered with a bed of sand which sparkled with
bright mineral grain. The lower seat tier was made out of marble, the
second was made out of wood and the third seemed to have offered
standing places only.
[IMAGE]
This is a model of Circus Maximus in completion. All around it is the
seating and there is a tiny building in between where the judges must
have been. The charioteers must have started on the left in the
starting gates; the Romans called it the Spina Metae. They would go
down where they would have to make a very sharp turn with other
charioteers in the way. It must have been hard unless they were very
skilful.
The races started with a procession of chariots through the
Processional Gate, the horses sleek and well groomed, the charioteers
splendid in their colourful costumes. Statues and Gods were paraded:
Jupiter, King of the Gods, Mars, God of War, and Venus, Goddess of
Love and beauty and Neptune. People in the crowd wore the colours of
the team they supported.
Most drivers were proud of their horses if they won the races. They
were very highly trained, probably more than today, s...
... middle of paper ...
...ew of the
spectators. Often escorted by outriders and riders on lead ponies, the
horses are positioned in individual stalls within the starting gate,
located at the starting line. When the field, as the entrants are
collectively called, is evenly aligned, the starter presses a button
to open the stall gates. This is rather similar to Roman chariot
racing.
Bibliography
'Gladiators - the basics' by Claire Gruzelier
Chariot Racing Sources
'http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus_sources.html'
'Daily Life in Ancient Rome' Chapter III'The Races'
'Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome' Chapter 10 'The Races'
'Sidonius, Apollinaris, Poems 23.323-424
'Ovid, Love Affairs' 3.2.1-14, 19-26, 33-38, 43-59 and 61-84
'Pliny the Younger' Letters 9.6
CIL 6.10048/10050
'Martial, Epigrams' 10.53, 50 (5-8)
In both Roman and Byzantine Empire, chariot racing was very popular and there were well developed associations of sports fans. There were four major factions of chariot racing and the color of the uniform represented the favorite racing team. Two major groups in this era were ...
When the Romans went to the gladiator fights, they wanted to watch a very exciting and entertaining contest. So, the Romans purposefully set up the gladiator fights to be unfair by making the matchups unbalanced. The gladiator’s living conditions affected the fight. Yet, with all the morals and myths that the Roman government promoted as what was expected of the roman citizens, the brutal battles that were in the coliseum wouldn’t be tolerated, but they were. The unpredictable outcome of these matches were what made these so entertaining.
Question : Who were the spectators at Roman games? Discuss the relationship between them and the performers they watched.
a chariot racing or gladiatorial event in Rome . It was “imperial policy to occupy the populace as much as possible with games, that their minds be kept off their lost political liberties” . The games kept the minds of the citizens occupied and it served to keep the gossip in the streets of the Roman Empire from turning to politics. In the streets of the Roman Empire, the populace stuck to talking of the Roman games, as talk of politics could result in a punishment as harsh as death. The Emperors in Rome employed spies, and informers that would turn any citizen in for talking of politics. They even went so far as to employ individuals who would intentionally break the law in order to induce others into breaking the law so that they could be
held in what was called The Circus Maximus. The chariot races held in the Circus Maximus were
There were four different genres of such entertainment in the games held in amphitheatres (Amphi-theatres are outdoor arenas. "theatres in the round": Amphi- meaning "round" in Greek.) : Gladiatorial combat, the theatrical execution of foreigners, beast shows, as well as chariot racing. Watching someone or a beast kill another was applauded for the method, skill, or artistry used in the slaughter. The games themselves provided ways for Rome to demonstrate the power of their empire, as huge investments of wealth, time, and emotion was put into the games. Death became a spectator sport with the viewers and the viewed both contributing to a wild and gory performance. Already by the late Republic magistrates were spending huge amounts of money on these games. The Latin word for gladiatorial games is Munus which means obligatory offering. This reflects the origin of these games as funerary offerings to the dead. While magistrates in the Republic may well have put on games to gain popular favour, this was in their private capacity and not as magistrates. Only gradually did the gladiatorial shows come to be assimilated with the games put on by magistrates.
Roman Empire, political system established by Rome that lasted for nearly five centuries. Historians usually date the beginning of the Roman Empire from 27 bc when the Roman Senate gave Gaius Octavius the name Augustus and he became the undisputed emperor after years of bitter civil war. At its peak the empire included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring territories during the Roman Republic (509-27 bc), but made wider conquests and solidified political control of these lands during the empire. The empire lasted until Germanic invasions, economic decline, and internal unrest in the 4th and 5th centuries ad ended Rome’s ability to dominate such a huge territory. The Romans and their empire gave cultural and political shape to the subsequent history of Europe from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present day.
During the middle and late third century Roman republic era gave rise to the arena games and became a great phenomenon for the Romans. An amphitheater, also known as a coliseum, housed these dangerous games that potentially harmed the audience as well as those who participated in them. Gladiatorial combat originated as part of funerals for deceased influential Romans. These large gladiatorial games were held by emperors during funerals of important roman officials, but were also included during other occasions. Over time the connection among the gladiator games and funerals decreased, and the upper class put on the games mainly to raise their social standing and gain favor with the public. Many politicians held these highly known games to help them sway votes of power and popularity (Meijer 2003, 27). “The arena was the embodiment of the empire.” (Futrell 1997, 209). The contestants, or the gladiators, had more significance of the Roman Empire beyond that as their role of entertainment.
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...
The Column of Trajan is a great example of why the Romans valued stability in the good society. The Column of Trajan was made in 113 CE in order to celebrate Emperor Trajan in his victory over Dacia, which is modern day Romania. The Column, which stands tall at 38 meters, is made of white marble. It shows many aspects of the Roman army, such as weapons, ships, equipment, and armour. Like any strong country, Rome showed their people that their army was strong. It also reassured them that they would not have to worry about their safety. The column was built after the victory over Dacia. Dacia was seen as a threat to Moesia, a province along the Danube frontier. Also, Dacia had many natural resources such as gold which intrigued Emperor Trajan.
The first known gladiatorial combat in Rome took place at the funeral of a nobleman named Junius Brutus in 264 B.C.2 His sons Marcus and Decimus revived an ancient Etruscan custom of having slaves fight at the funeral of a great leader in the belief that such a sacrifice would please the gods. During the ceremony, three pairs of slaves were forced to fight to the death. In 216 B.C., twenty-two pairs of slaves fought at the funeral of a man named Marcus Lepidus. Sixty pairs of slaves fought when Publicus Licinius died in 183 B.C. These slave fighters were now known as bustiarii, or funeral men.3 By the time of Julius Caesar, any direct association with funerals and religion was gone, and these fighters, now known as gladiators, meaning swordsmen, were a powerful force in Roman politics. He bought the affection of the people with magnificent banquets and spectacles that were open and free to the public. Caesar then estab...
Gladiators were combatants equipped for arena battles. These battles were against other soldiers, conquered enemies, slaves, and criminals. Even wild beasts were added to be part of the bloody spectacle. Gladiators were a source of entertainment for Roman crowds, politicians and nobility at the Coliseum. It was the Roman equivalent to a Packer game at Lambeau field. A few gladiators were volunteers, but most were detested as slaves. Regardless of where they came from, gladiators allowed spectators to see an example of Rome 's military principles and, how to die an honorable death. The origin of gladiator combat is unclear, evidence supports that it became an important attribute of politics
dead was counted as a funeral rite. It is called munus (a service) from being a
As history tells us, in the Roman days, the competitors had to be in superb shape in order to compete in the activities and sports of that time. What about Hercules and the characters of the Roman time period. Chariot races could be considered the beginning of auto racing or even motocross. The chariot rider ...
140 to 150 metres at its widest point. The fact that it was built in a