Roman Racing

Judah Ben-Hur knew how to race

Here's a quiz: what was the loudest, fastest, and most popular game in ancient Rome? If you answered "gladiatorial contests," we have a surprise for you. Yes, the gladiators were popular, but the real action was down the road from the Colosseum--in the Circus Maximus. The game was chariot racing.

The Greatest (Roman) Show on Earth

By the time of ancient Rome, chariot racing already had a long history in the Mediterranean. But the Romans made it a spectacle like no other.

Circus Maximus

Roman chariots raced on circuses (so called because of their oval shape). The greatest of these, the Circus Maximus, started out simply as a flat space between two hills on which spectators would sit. Eventually, it was ringed with bleachers--first of wood, then of stone. Admission was free, and there were seats for more than 150,000 spectators. By comparison, the Colosseum sat a mere 30,000.

The races featured quadriga teams--four horses yoked to each chariot. The chariots, up to twelve per race, would start in elaborate starting gates, and when the doors burst open, the contestants would race along a sandy track. The chariots were lightly constructed of wood and, with four horses pulling together, could move like lightning. There were, however, seven laps in a race (totaling three or four miles), and the corners were tight, so drivers had to accelerate and decelerate masterfully if they hoped to win.

Death Before Defeat

High-ranking Romans were not allowed to race in the Circus, so the drivers tended to be low-born--most were former slaves. With a cash purse riding on every contest, chariot racing was a good way for talented men to make a lot of money and rise quickly up the social ladder.

Driven by the cash, drivers often disregarded safety and did everything they could to win. Contestants would wear a helmet and wrap leather around their chests for safety, but they would also tie the reins around their waist to leave their hands free, and that often spelled trouble. If a chariot capsized and a driver found himself dragged behind his team, his only chance was to cut the reins with a special curved dagger that he wore for that purpose.

With so many teams taking tight turns at high speeds, it wasn't unusual to see a driver seriously injured. The Roman poet Martial wrote a verse in honor of the charioteer Scorpus, who won over 2,000 races. His career ended abruptly when he took a turn too fast; his chariot flipped over, and he was killed in the accident.

Team Spirit

Now, what could make chariot racing even more thrilling? Try team rivalries. Every chariot driver in the Circus Maximus belonged to one of four stables, denoted by the color they wore: red, green, white, or blue. Each stable had a star driver, and his teammates would do what they could to make sure he won (or at least prevent a hated rival from winning).

Members of the public identified strongly with a favorite stable, just like sports fans today. Archaeologists have even recovered ancient curse tablets in which fans tried through occult means to sabotage the hopes of rival teams.

With so much passion invested in the sport, is it any wonder that politicians found a way to use it to their advantage? The famous phrase "bread and circuses" refers to the Roman method of distracting a disaffected public with free food and spectacular races at public expense. Two thousand years later, we're just as passionate about our own favorite teams, and winners visit the White House.

Mark Diller
February 21, 2005

Want to learn more?
Go to the races at Discovery.com
http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/chariotrace/chariotrace.html