The largest stadium in Rome was not the Colosseum but the Circus Maximus. This was the site of chariot races, which were the favorite entertainment of the average citizen of Rome. The Circus Maximus was situated in the long, narrow valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, which formed a natural stadium for chariot racing. The Etruscans seem to have first held races here, and crowds likely gathered on the natural slopes of the hills to watch. Over time, the creek in the bottom of the valley was drained and a wooden structure erected. By the empire, this seems to have been largely replaced by a stone one, and by the time of Trajan it had become a gigantic and awe-inspiring marble stadium. Races continued to be held here through at least the sixth century ad.
The Circus Maximus was by far the largest stadium in Rome. It was a third of a mile long and could seat potentially up to 350,000 spectators. Unlike the Flavian Amphitheater, whose 55,000 seats would have been largely occupied by the upper classes, the size of the Circus Maximus meant that all segments of Roman society could attend races. Admission was free or for a nominal fee. In addition, chariot races were held frequently. Whereas there might have been only two or three gladiator contests per year, each of the over 100 holidays per year would have included chariot racing. All these factors ensured that chariot racing was the most popular form of entertainment for the average inhabitant of the city as well as the most accessible.
Organizations called factions trained, equipped, and entered teams in the races. Originally, there seem to have been just two of these, the Reds and the Whites. Later, two more were added, the Blues and the Greens. One of the emperors tried to create two new groups, the Golds and the Purples, but these did not catch on, and for most of racing history, the four big groups dominated. They were large and powerful organizations; each one owned extensive stables and breeding farms for their horses and highly organized training centers and schools for their charioteers. Naturally, they also maintained a number of grooms and veterinarians. On one occasion, the factions refused to provide horses unless they were paid more. The praetor in charge of games threatened to substitute dogs instead, but the emperor Nero then intervened with a cash gift.
The Circus Maximus was an impressive building whose design affected the course of the races. It enclosed a long, oval-shaped track, and the entire structure in its final form was about 600 meters long and 180 meters wide. One end of the oval was flat rather than curved and the starting gates (carceres) were located along the flat side of the oval. There were 12 of these gates; thus, a race could have a maximum of 12 chariots. Down the center of the track was a long, narrow divider known as the spina, meaning "spine." At each end of the spina were placed three cones, known as the metae. These were the posts around which the chariots turned. Along its length, the spina was decorated with several Egyptian obelisks as well as various statues and monuments. Among these were the mechanisms used to mark laps. One way this was indicated was with large, golden eggs that were lowered or raised as each lap was completed. This method was supplemented by Agrippa, who had erected seven golden dolphins. These were used to indicate when each lap had been finished, probably by being tipped. The Romans regarded the dolphin as the fastest creature, so this was a symbolically appropriate device for a horse race. Also, dolphins were associated with the god of the sea, Neptune, who was himself associated with horses. A standard race consisted of seven laps, and as the lead chariot crossed the finish line on each lap, one of the dolphins was tipped. The area between the turning posts also featured pools of water and fountains, and on at least one occasion an emperor replaced the water with wine. Painted lines delineated the lanes and the finish line. The surface of the track was probably sand over another, firmer substance. Some emperors had pigments added to the sand to create a spectacular appearance, including instances when the track was colored red or green, or when shiny rocks such as mica were added to the sand to give a glittering effect. The total length of a standard race was about eight kilometers and probably took less than 15 minutes to complete.
There were many varieties of races. One employed two-horse chariots, which were called bigae. The most popular and common races involved four-horse chariots called quadrigae. Nearly all races were of one of these two main types, although for the sake of variety there were odd vari-
Figure 9.4 Reconstruction drawing of the northern half of the Circus Maximus, seen from behind the starting gates. (From G. Gatteschi, Restnuri della Roma Imperiale, 1924, p. 53.)
Figure 9.5 The valley of the Circus Maximus today, viewed from approximately the same perspective as Figure 9.4.
Ations. The Romans experimented with different numbers of horses, sometimes using odd numbers of horses, such as in three-horse chariots, and other times yoking large numbers of horses to a single chariot. The largest recorded example of the latter was a race held with chariots each drawn by no fewer than 10 horses. One unusual type of race was the ped-ibiis ad quadrigiim. The exact nature of this race is debated, but it clearly incorporated a footrace element into the chariot race. One theory holds that there was a passenger in each chariot in addition to the driver, and as soon as each chariot crossed the finish line, the passenger jumped out and had to run one additional lap around the circus to win. This would certainly have been a hazardous situation for the runner with all the other rival chariots still on the track, and one can readily imagine frequent "accidents" as the runner was trampled under the hooves or wheels of competing quadrigae.
In a quadriga race with 12 chariots competing, each faction would have entered 3 chariots of its color. The factions drew lots to determine the order in which the drivers would select their starting gate. The signal for the start of the race was when the emperor or presiding magistrate dropped a cloth called the mappa.
On the straightaways, each charioteer would urge his horses to go as fast as possible, and the points of greatest tension were the turns around the metae at either end of the spina. In modern racecourses, the turns are very gradual, but in the circus, each chariot actually had to complete a 180-degree turn. Naturally, the chariot that turned closest to the metae would travel the shortest distance and would therefore have the inside track on the next straightaway. This led to the chariots bunching together, and crashes were frequent. The actual stadium seems to have been designed to maximize carnage, and crashes were often fatal. Making races even more competitive was the fact that all the chariots from a single faction might work together as a team. To ensure the victory of one chariot from the faction, the other two might possibly sacrifice themselves by obstructing chariots from the other factions or even intentionally ramming them.
There were 24 races per day; thus, one could spend an entire day at the Circus Maximus. The winning charioteer received a crown of palm leaves and the winner's prize money. These prizes seem to have ranged between
5,000 and 60,000 sesterces for first place, and there were also lesser prizes for second, third, and fourth place. The inhabitants of Rome were truly fanatical spectators. Just as modern sports fans follow specific teams, Romans would choose a faction and live and die with the fortunes of that group. An example of the extremes to which this fanaticism could reach happened when one of the most successful charioteers for the Whites died in a crash; at his funeral when the body was being cremated, a distraught fan flung himself on the pyre. Even fans who didn't go to such lengths were rabidly enthusiastic about their factions. Dressed in the appropriate
Figure 9.6 Sculptural relief of a chariot race in the Circus Maximus. The turning posts (metae) and dolphin lap markers are visible on the spina.
Figure 9.7 Wall painting of the riot of ad 59 in the amphitheater at Toinpeii, which resulted in a ban on amphitheater events for 10 years.
Color, they went to the Circus Maximus in large groups and sat together. They developed elaborate cheers and songs that tens of thousands of fans would chant and sing in unison. Often these chants deteriorated into abuse directed at the fans of other factions, and riots were not infrequent.
The most violent of these riots occurred not at Rome but at Constantinople. By the time it was over, most of the city had been burned down and 30,000 people were dead. Since one common chant of the factions was Nike, meaning "victory," this riot became known as the Nike Riot. Another famous riot, although this time at a gladiator game, happened in ad 59 at Pompeii, when a large group of spectators from a neighboring city got into a fight with the locals. In the ensuing riot, many people were killed, and the city of Pompeii was banned from holding any games for the next 10 years.
The most popular faction among the poor people seems to have been the Greens, who were also favored by most of the insane emperors, including Caligula, Nero, Commodus, and Elagabalus. Zealous fans sometimes placed curse tablets in the stables of their rivals. One of these that has been found featured on one side a number of magical words and on the other the injunction, "Demon, I demand and ask of you that from this day, hour, and moment forward that you torture the horses of the Greens and Whites. Kill Them! Kill also the charioteers Glams, Felix, Primulus, and Romanus. Cause them to crash and leave no breath in their bodies!" (Sherk, Roman Empire 217). Concern over this practice actually led to a law being passed declaring it illegal to use magic against charioteers.
The most successful charioteers became phenomenally wealthy as well as famous. They were celebrities who even had poems written about them. A number of monuments put up in honor of these charioteers have been found, erected after their deaths by mourning fans. Typical of these charioteers was a man named Crescens. He was an African who began racing at the age of 13 and who died in a crash at 22. His monument notes that during this time, he won victory purses totaling 1.5 million sesterces {CIL 6.10050). One of the most successful charioteers was a man named Gains Apuleius Diodes. He was from what is now Portugal and began racing at 18 for the Whites, although he did not win a race until he was 20. He later switched to the Greens and then again to the Reds. His racing career lasted 24 years, and he participated in 4,257 races, 1,462 of which he won. The prizes he earned were worth a total of 4 million sesterces. More than 1,000 of his victories occurred in races in which there was only one team from each faction; he won 347 times when there were two teams from each faction and only 51 times when there were three teams from each faction. The inscription recording his life contains the information that 815 of his victories came in races in which he led from the start, 67 were in races in which he came from behind, and 36 were in races in which he managed to win even after another racer had passed him at some point.
Figure 3.8 Mosaic of a charioteer of the Red faction with his horse. Successful charioteers could become wealthy and attain a celebrity-like status.
On 42 occasions, he emerged victorious in other ways, perhaps due to his opponents crashing. Finally, it is mentioned that he won races at various times while driving two, four, six, and even seven horse chariots {ILS 5287).
Many charioteers died not directly as the result of a crash but from being dragged around the track after one. This happened because charioteers habitually tied the reins to their arms. All charioteers carried a knife during races with which they hoped to be able to cut themselves free, but this may have been wishful thinking rather than a practical solution.
BEAST HUNTS
The Romans seem to have had a real fascination with exotic animals. Oddly enough, however, a proper zoo was never established at Rome; instead, they seem mostly to have enjoyed just watching these animals kill or be killed. As with gladiatorial combat, this form of entertainment grew popular in the Late Republic, Pompey started the trend with some games at which several hundred Hons and leopards were killed. The Roman conquest of North Africa and Egypt made all sorts of exotic animals available. The first hippo and crocodile were seen at Rome in 58 bc. How quickly this type of entertainment expanded can be seen by considering a single day during the empire when the following animals were slaughtered at Rome: 32 elephants, 10 elk, 20 mules, 10 tigers, 40 horses, 60 lions, 30 leopards, 10 hyenas, 10 giraffes, 6 hippos, 1 rhino, and several dozen gazelles and ostriches.
There were four main ways in which animals were used for entertainment: an armed man versus a wild animal or animals, animals versus other animals, people being fed to animals, and trained animals performing tricks.
This last category was unusual in that it was the only one that did not focus upon the death of the participants. The Romans enjoyed watching performing bears and seals do tricks, much as people at modem circuses do. They also had trained elephants that were tightrope walkers. One celebrated dog would apparently lick up a bowl of poison. It would then go into violent convulsions, after which it flopped over, apparently dead. This was all an act, however, and at the end the dog was revealed to be alive. There was also a group of trained monkeys dressed as soldiers, some of whom rode goats as if they were horses, and others who drove chariots pulled by teams of goats. One of the consuls in 35 sc had a pet elephant that he rode to dinner parties.
A beast hunt, called a z>enatione, usually pitted a man called a bestiarius, armed with a dagger or spear, against one or several animals. To make these hunts more exciting, sometimes little natural settings were built in the arena, including forests, hills, caves, and streams. Some emperors seem to have enjoyed displaying their prowess as hunters before the Roman public. The emperor Domitian liked to show off his skill as an archer and would shoot animals in the head with a pair of arrows in such a way that the arrows protruded from the animal's head like horns.
The mentally unbalanced emperor Commodus, who considered himself a mighty hunter, had specially made arrows with curved tips. He liked to shoot these at ostriches while they were running because the arrows would neatly cut off the ostriches' heads, but the bodies would go on running for a while before they collapsed. On another occasion, he had 100 lions released into the amphitheater and killed them all using exactly 100 spears. His bravery did not match his skill, however, since he had walkways placed above the floor of the amphitheater, and it was from these elevated and safe platforms that he killed the animals rather than confronting them down on the surface of the arena. On one occasion a beast hunt provided Commodus with a way to intimidate the senate. He despised the senate and had many of the senators put to death. After killing some ostriches in the arena, he picked up one of the severed heads, walked over to where the senate was sitting, and shook the head at them—a clear message that he would like to do the same to the senators. This bizarre and ridiculous image provoked humor rather than fear in some of the senators. One who described the scene resorted to stuffing the laurel leaves of the crown he was wearing into his mouth and desperately chewing them to avoid bursting out in laughter, which probably would have resulted in his death.
Figure 9.9 Mosaic of a bestiarins fighting a leopard. These men were rarely armed with more than a simple spear or dagger.
One creative variant on a beast hunt occurred during the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus, who had an enormous ship built in the Circus Maximus. It was designed so that it would collapse and release 700 animals of seven different species, which were then hunted down. This was apparently intended as a kind of shipwreck scenario. Coins were issued during this set of games that bore the legend "lactitia tempore," or "happy times."
When animals were pitted against each other, the Romans often tied them together with a chain to make sure that they would fight. Favorite pairings of this sort included a bull versus a bear and an elephant versus a rhino. The last form of beast show was perhaps the most sadistic. The Romans had special little wagons built that had a stake projecting up from them. Criminals were tied to these stakes and then the wagons were wheeled into the arena. After the handlers had left, they released starving animals, which proceeded to chew on the helpless victims at their leisure.
Perhaps the most amazing beast hunt took place during the 123-day-long games of Trajan, which, in addition to featuring 10,000 gladiators, saw no less than 11,000 wild animals slaughtered in the arena. In view of statistics such as this, it is no surprise that in about a century, the Romans had caused most of the wnld animals of North Africa to become extinct.
World History
