THE Circus Maximus was the largest stadium in ancient Rome built for chariot races. They were extended precincts in which the public games were held, consisting of both chariot races and gladiator fights. It could seat 250,000 to 300,000 spectators. Less violent than gladiator battles, the chariot races were still extreme and dangerous. Decorative sculptures were tilted to let spectators know how many laps had already been completed in the race. There were also foot races that would have lasted for several hours. At the Circus Maximus, men and women were allowed to sit together unlike at gladiator fights where they were separated. Many of the competitors were slaves fighting for their liberty. Successful charioteers were often very famous. …show more content…
The Circus was the most popular of the diversions provided by the emperor. The Circus Maximus and its chariot races were disliked by Emperor Nero, who was extremely fond of horses. Emperor Commodus ran 30 races in just 2 hours one afternoon in A.D.192. A regular race could have been run in just 8 to 9 minutes. Factions were identified by their colors: Blue or green, or Red or white. Prize money ranged from 15 to 30,000 sesterces to as much as 60,000 for a single victory. The races lasted 7 laps. There were 13 turns, run counter-clockwise around the metae for a total of 7 laps, a distance just over 3 miles, depending upon how close to the inside the driver could stay. The film Ben-Hur accurately what it would really be like to be in a chariot race. In order for the chariot to be fast it had to be really light weight. The most challenging task was actually steering the horses. The quadriga was pulled by 4 horses, which were not yoked but harnessed only by a rein or trace, and a yoked pair in the center, the right horse of which was considered to be the more important. The length of the track was 2,000 feet (610m). The chariots were not only built to race in a stadium, but also for good
Main Functions of the Games in Ancient Rome The 2 main kinds of games that took place in ancient Rome were those of ludi scaenici (theatre and plays) and those of ludi circenses (sports). This evaluation of Roman games will concentrate on the sports side of Roman entertainment due to their much higher popularity i.e. chariot racing and the gladiators. Chariot racing is one of the oldest spectator sports in Rome dating back to at least 6BC. The races started to celebrate religious festivals, the very first recorded one was the festival of to consus, this festival known as the Consualia was celebrated on the 21st August in Rome, which happened to be the local Derby Day, the main event of the racing calendar. The underground granary where the shrine to
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 ...
Rome’s most famous landmark, Colosseum is a large Amphitheatre that could hold up to 50,000 people seated, which is located in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was used as a royal treat, entertainment where gladiators would fight with wild beast in front of people, animal hunt, theatre performances and public executions for public entertainment and also the King himself. Most of the public event was held at Colosseum. The Roman Colosseum was built between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor.
The citizens of Rome loved to go to these bloody warfares. In the city of Rome, these events were held in the Colosseum. An arena so large that it could hold 50,000 spectators and host fights between men and animals.
held in what was called The Circus Maximus. The chariot races held in the Circus Maximus were
Johnson, Michael P., and James L. Roark. "4." No Chariots Let Down. 1. ed. North Carolina: University of North Carolina, 1984. 53. Print.
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.
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, 2009). The contestants, or the gladiators, had more significance of the Roman Empire beyond that as their role of entertainment. Alan Baker states in his book The Gladiator – The Secret History of Rome’s Warrior Slaves that, “attendance at the amphitheater was an essential part of being a Roman, a member of a powerful warrior state” (Baker 2000, 39).
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 ...
The Pentathlon was the name for the five events in Greek gymnastics: running, jumping, wrestling, discus throwing, and javelin throwing which began with the 18th Olympiad. In the wrestling event, wrestlers were anointed with oil, dusted with powder, and forbidden to bite or gouge one another. Wrestling was looked upon as a weapon-free military exercise. Since there was no weapons wrestlers that competed used their weight and strength as an advantage especially since there were no weight categories. The Javelin was thrown in the same form back in ancient times as it is thrown today. The first recorded Olympic Games had one event, a race, called the stade which is a measure of the distance of the length of the track. By 724 B.C. a two-length race was added and by 700 B.C. there were longer distance races. By 720 B.C., men participated naked, except in the foot race in armor that weighed between fifty to sixty pounds. The outfit included a helmet, greaves, and a shield that helped young men build speed and stamina in preparation for war. The Pentathlon included three running events such as the Stade, the Diaulos, and the Dolichos. The Stade was a 200 yard foot race, was the first and only Olympic event for 13 Games. The dolichos was a variable length foot race averaging twenty stades or four thousand yards for the fifteenth Olympiad. The Diaulos was a four hundred yard foot race that was instituted for the next Olympic Games. The discus was considered by ancient Greeks, an event of rhythm, precision, and finesse of a competitor to throw the discus was as important as his strength. The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. The Sizes were different for the boys' division, since the boys were not expected to throw the same weighted discus as the men. The athletes who competed in the jump event used lead or stone jump weights called halteres shaped like telephone receivers to increase ...
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
" Life of a Gladiator. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 06 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard The "Roman Gladiator" - "The Roman Gladiator" The Roman Gladiator.
Circus Maximus also had laps, which a racer had to close the finish line seven times to finally when. Seven wooden eggs were used as lap markers. Each time a racer crossed the finish line, an egg was removed time the last egg. Even today NACAR laps can be up to 500 laps long. When charioteer or horse won over a thousand horse races they were called a miliarius meaning milestone.
While the most popular games were 'chariot racing' and simulated naval battles, fights in the amphitheatres, shown in these mosaics include gladiator V gladiator, gladiator V animal (pic 2) and animal V animal, were a common feature. Less common, but not infrequent was the release of wild beasts from the pits into the arena where hundreds of criminals had earlier been positioned. These spectacles all deeming to be very entertaining to spectators.
The Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is perhaps the most famous ancient landmark in the world. The Colosseum was the host to thousands of gladiatorial shows, mock naval battles, executions, and animal hunts. Today, the Colosseum still stands in the center of Rome, Italy, however, not quite as it used to be. Still, today, the Roman Colosseum is a large tourist attraction, thousands of tourists from all over the world still come to view this marveled arena. The Roman Colosseum has a rich history, and remains a prized possession of the Roman citizens.