The Circus Maximus and Preparation for the Games Flashcards
What was a circus
A stadium for chariot races
‘Circuit/circle’
What were the ludi circenses
‘Circus games’
Chariot racing games
Where was the circus maximus
In the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills
Describe the upgrades to the circus maximus
46 BCE - Julius Caesar; developed the cavea
Seating capacity of 150,000
In the next century it grew to seat 250,000
Describe the stadium circus maximus
Sandy track (600m length, 150m across)
In the middle was the spina
At the end of the spina was the meta
Various monuments and symbols of the gods (obelisk from the time of Rameses II set up by Augustus to mark his conquest of Egypt), statue of Neptune
7 ova (7 bronze dolphins in imperial times)
Spectators could not see occasionally
12 carceres (wood, 46BCE- stone, Claudius - marble) made staggered starts. Spring-loaded starting gate
Describe the seating of the circus maximus
Wrapped round 3 sides (fourth for carceres)
Three tiers
Lowest - marble: state priests (Vestal Virgins), senators and wealthy equites
Middle - stone: anyone, little segregation
Top - standing room
Pulvinar (top tier, Palatine side) contained a shrine to the gods
Numerous stairways and exits
Describe the surrounding area of the circus maximus
Numerous shops and taverns
64CE - fire broke out in a taberna which devastated the whole city
Describe wild beast shows
Until 64CE
Moat constructed 46BCE
General Pompey sent armed captives from the Gaetulia in North Africa to fight against 20 elephants. Iron fence buckled and crowd fled
Describe the factiones
4 teams
Red and whites were earliest
Blues and greens
Emperor Domitian tried to add gold and purple
Describe the staff of a dominus factionis
Stable boys, trainers, veterinary surgeons, grooms, guards, saddlers, dressers, waterers
Agitatores/aurigae
Describe aurigae
Paid extraordinary sums if best
Low born origin - freedmen (or slaves who might be able to pay for their freedom with a few victories)
Describe the pay of an aurigae
Prize money for one race: 60,000 sesterces
Juvenal complained that Lacerta (a red charioteer) could earn 100x a lawyers fee
Describe Diocles
From Lusitania
2nd century CE (122CE first race)
24 year career
1462 wins of 4257 races
Died aged 42
Amassed prize money exceeding 35 million sesterces
Describe Scorpus
Died in a race aged 26
2048 victories
Gilded busts of him around Rome
Describe the popularity of aurigae
Images of them found in walls of streets and buildings of excavated cities (Pompeii, Ostia)
Suetonius said that before the reign of Nero they could get away with mugging people unpunished
