Chariot Races

The Roman Circus Maximus — or racetrack — was a rough and raucous place, which seated
nearly 200,000 people. The Circus was long and oval shaped, with two long parallel sides and
one rounded end, with seating all around. The farthest end of the oval was filled with stables and
starting boxes. Down the center of the racecourse ran a low wall called the spina, which
contained decorative sculptures that would be tilted to let spectators know how many laps had
been completed.

As many as twelve chariots raced at one time in a seven-lap mad dash around the track. The
races were extremely dangerous, and often deadly for the drivers; the chariots were by necessity
very light vehicles, and drivers thrown from a broken or overturned chariot were frequently
trampled and killed by the charging horses, or became caught in the reins and were dragged to
their deaths.

There were several popular teams — Red, White, Blue and Green — each with its own
organization for finding riders and horses. The chariot drivers themselves were usually slaves or
freedmen, and their loyal fans often cursed rival teams with ferocious partisanship, as attested in
curse tablets:

I entreat you O Demon whoever you are and demand of you from this hour, from
this very moment, you crucify the horses of the Green and White teams. And that
you kill the drivers Clarus and Felix and crush them. Do not leave any breath in
them!

Not everyone embraced the sport with such enthusiasm, however, and racing was associated
with mob behavior. Pliny the Younger wrote:

Recently, I have spent all my time among writing tablets and books. "How is that
possible with the races on?" you ask. They're not the kind of spectacle that I find
tempting. I marvel that thousands are so childish and long to see — again and
again galloping horses pulling men standing in chariots.

Nero's enthusiasm for the sport of commoners scandalized Rome's elite, but it endeared him to
the masses. "For such is a crowd — eager for excitement and thrilled if the Emperor shares their
tastes," sneered the stately historian, Tacitus. Seutonius noted:

Nero had been passionate about horses from early childhood. At the beginning of
his reign, he played every day with toy chariots made of ivory. Soon he wished to
drive a chariot himself. So first practicing with his slaves, he appeared before the
whole city in the circus.

Chariot racing was a very expensive entertainment to provide, and evolved into a highly
organized, profitable business, with scouts always on the lookout for the fastest horses and the
bravest men.
Bread and Circuses

The Romans' love of spectacular entertainment is perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of
Roman social life. Puzzling in their brutality and fascinating in their opulence, Roman spectacles
have retained a place in popular imagination to this day.

Judith Hallett: The Romans, I think, did not expect to live as long as we do, and
they did not expect to enjoy their loved ones, for as long as we do. And, I think,
they tried to enjoy life a lot more intensely than we do, because they recognized
the time was very limited. It's everywhere in their philosophy. Carpe deim, Seize
the moment.

The Plebeian and freed population of Rome vastly

outnumbered the Equestrian and Patrician classes, and their
lives were much harder. Many had no jobs, little money and
little food.
Augustus, realizing that the masses of average Romans had
to be kept both fed and happy enough to remain peaceful,
began the system of patronage we now refer to as "bread and
circuses." He gave the people food — by means of grain
distribution and legislation of food prices — and free
entertainment such as chariot races, gladiators, and lavish
spectacles in amphitheaters and the Circus Maximus.

Karl Galinsky: Tacitus says, "Through the

Romans were fed and entertained to
sweetness of leisure, Augustus seduced one
ensure peace. and all." And what Tacitus basically implies
here is that he bought them off. He gave them
bread and circuses... Augustus is buying everybody off, and everybody is happy
again. And in the meantime, he is grabbing on all the power.