Roman chariot racing

Question 1

When is it believed that Chariot racing was introduced to Rome

Answer 1

in 8th century BC by Romulus

Question 2

What was the biggest Circus called?

Answer 2

the Circus Maximus

Question 3

Where was the circus maximus located?

Answer 3

in a small valley in the city of rome

Question 4

What was the capacity of the circus maximus

Answer 4

250,000

Question 5

How long and wide was the track of the circus maximus

Answer 5

600m long and 150m wide

Question 6

What was the dividing bank of the track called?

Answer 6

the spina

Question 7

what does the ‘spina’ translate to in English

Answer 7

backbone

Question 8

What was the curved end of the spina decorated with and what was it called?

Answer 8

decorated with three posts known as metae

Question 9

what were metae made of?

Answer 9

gilded bronze

Question 10

what other monuments where on the spina?

Answer 10

-large red obelisk from Egypt marking Augusts’ conquest of Egypt
-symbols of gods
-seven large wooden eggs

Question 11

What did the seven large wooden eggs symbolise?

Answer 11

they would be lowered to indicate how many of the 7 laps had been completed

Question 12

What were the starting cages in the circus maximus called?

Answer 12

Carceres

Question 13

How many starting cages were there and what was special about them

Answer 13

there were 12 with a staggered start along with a spring loaded start gate

Question 14

What was the circus maximus made out of?

Answer 14

brick-faced concrete

Question 15

How many tiers were there, who sat in them and what were they made out of?

Answer 15

There were three. Lowest in marble for VIPS eg. state priests, senators and equites. The other two were made from stone and could seat anyone.

Question 16

What made the circus maximus different from the colosseum in terms of seating?

Answer 16

the circus maximus was not separated, so men woman and children of different societies could sit together

Question 17

Who paid for the games at the circus maximus ?

Answer 17

either by the emperor, or by a senior politician

Question 18

why would a senior politician pay for the games?

Answer 18

as a chance to win popularity

Question 19

How would a day at the games open?

Answer 19

the sponsor of the games, led the entry parade that began the day’s events
Behind him came the charioteers and horses, as well as musicians and soldiers, who carried images of the gods and goddesses believed to be present at the races. these were carried to the imperial box

Question 20

What would the chariot races consist of?

Answer 20

consisted of seven laps of the track in an anti-clock wise direction and lasted for about ten to fifteen minutes

Question 21

How many races where in a day?

Answer 21

24

Question 22

How many horses usually pulled one chariot?

Answer 22

4

Question 23

Which emperor famously took part in a ten horse chariot race and when?

Answer 23

Nero in 67 AD

Question 24

What was the racing start signal?

Answer 24

the dropping of a white cloth

Question 25

What would charioteers wear?

Answer 25

wear a tunic, colour- coded to his team, and a leather helmet, and he would also carry a whip

Question 26

How would a charioteer use the reins on the horse?

Answer 26

wrapped them around his body and steered by transferring his weight from one side to another

Question 27

What was the danger with how charioteers used reins and how was this solved?

Answer 27

if he crashed he was in danger of being dragged along by the reins and so he carried a knife with him to cut
himself free.

Question 28

What was the most difficult part of the circuit and why?

Answer 28

the metae
-charioteer would have to find a balance between not going out too wide, thereby wasting valuable seconds, and not drawing too close to the spina, so risking a crash

Question 29

What would the winning charioteer recieve?

Answer 29

When the race was over, the sponsor of the games presented the winning charioteer with a palm branch, while the payments to him and his team were made at the end of the day

Question 30

What were the 4 teams that competed in Rome?

Answer 30

the Reds, the Whites, the Blues and the Greens

Question 31

How many charioteers would usually race for each team?

Answer 31

3

Question 32

What would the owner of each team do?

Answer 32

super vised his team’s set of stables
and employed many staff, including stable- boys, trainers and vets

Question 33

TRUE OR FALSE
Charioteers were paid little?

Answer 33

FALSE owners paid huge prices to sign the best

Question 34

Where were most charioteers origin from and what were they given the status of?

Answer 34

low-born origin, given status of infamis

Question 35

Who was the most celebrated Charioteer in Roman History?

Answer 35

Diocles

Question 36

What else did roman follow other than charioteers?

Answer 36

the horses kept statistics about them, such as their breed and pedigree

Question 37

Where were racehorses purpose-bred

Answer 37

in stud farms found mostly in north africa and spain

Question 38

What was the name of one the most popular racehorses and how many races did it win?

Answer 38

victor, he won 429 times

Question 39

What would roman supporters do that showed their passion?

Answer 39

-wear colours of their favourite teams
-heavy betting
-curse tablets

Question 40

What is one source that shows how extreme some fans were?

Answer 40

Roman writer records that at the funeral of a Red charioteer, a supporter was so devastated that he threw himself onto the funeral pyre.

Question 41

What is a curse tablet?

Answer 41

a tablet on which someone wrote a prayer to the gods asking them to put a curse on an enemy

Question 42

Who would supporters put curses on?

Answer 42

rival teams and charioteers

Question 43

Where is one inscription of a curse tablet found?

Answer 43

in north africa