Circus Maximus Research Paper

The Circus Maximus was the first and most prevalent stadium in ancient Rome. Latin for “greatest circus”, the Circus Maximus served as a stadium for entertainment, especially chariot racing. Being located amongst the Palatine and Aventine hills, it measured 621 meters by 118 meters, and seated around 150,000 onlookers. The Circus Maximus would become the exemplary venue for entertainment and circuses throughout the entire span of the Roman Empire (Humphrey 216).

The Circus Maximus was the principle locale for ludi, civic competitions associated with the religious festivals of Rome. Ludi were subsidized by the state of Rome to benefit the people and the gods. Most ludi occurred once a year, however ludi could be held in order to fulfill a religious oath or in celebration of Roman triumphs. The first ludi held due to a Roman triumph at the Circus Maximus occurred when Tarquin vowed a ludi to Jupiter after the Roman’s triumph over Pometia. Ludi fluctuated from one day to several days, with religious ceremonies and community banquets, chariot racing, athletic competitions, plays, and gladiator competitions. The larger ludi would begin with an ostentatious parade called pompa circensis, which presented the participants and pronounced the purpose of the ludi (Humphrey 66-67). As Rome became larger, new ludi were conceived by political figures who wanted support from the people. Through the later times of the Republic, ludi were held 57 days each year (Bunson 246). The republic’s end caused the emperors of Rome to meet the rapidly growing demand for consistent ludi and the necessity for further specialized venues. The Circus Maximus would eventually become the principle venue for chariot racing in Rome. After the coliseum was built ...

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...al cult of Rome. During the imperial era of Rome, Apollo was the patron of the Circus Maximus and all of its games and festivities. Part of the reason for this was that Apolloa was the ultimate charioteer, who would drive his chariot led by four horses, called a quadriga, through the heavens from sunrise all the way to sunset. The moon goddess drove a biga, which was a chariot driven by two horses. These two divine beings symbolized the systematic and predictable movement of the cosmos and time, which was used as an analogy for the track of the Circus (Sorabella 75). Built much before the shrine of Apollo, the temple dedicated to Luna was destroyed the catastrophic fire that hit the Circus in 64 CE, and was not likely replaced. After her temple wasw destroyed, her cult was likely moved to Apollo’s temple, or besides it, exposed to the sky above (Humphrey 63-64).