StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Chariot racing

Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek and Roman sports. Often dangerous to both drivers and horses, who frequently suffered serious injury and even death, the sport generated strong spectator enthusiasm comparable to modern-day interest in motor sports. Some of the organizational aspects of chariot racing also paralleled current practices in professional sports. In the Roman form of chariot racing, teams represented different groups of financial backers and sometimes competed for the services of particularly skilled drivers. These teams became the focus of intense support among spectators, and occasional disturbances broke out between followers of different teams. The conflicts sometimes became politicized, as the sport began to transcend the races themselves and started to affect society overall. This helps explain why Roman and later Byzantine emperors took control of the teams and appointed many officials to oversee them. The sport faded in importance after the fall of the Roman Empire in the west, surviving only for a time in the Byzantine Empire. A form of the sport exists today as harness racing. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolution (1536 Ã— 1024 pixel, file size: 691 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theme park of Puy du Fou I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolution (1536 Ã— 1024 pixel, file size: 691 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theme park of Puy du Fou I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Auto racing (also known as automobile racing or autosport) is a sport involving racing automobiles. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... A trotter training at Vincennes hippodrome Harness racing is a form of horse-racing in which the horses race in a specified gait. ...

Early chariot racing

It is unknown exactly where chariot racing began, but it may have been as old as chariots themselves. It is known from artistic evidence on pottery that the sport existed in the Mycenaean world, but the first literary reference to a chariot race is the one described by Homer in Book 23 of the Iliad, at the funeral games of Patroclus. The participants in this race were Diomedes, Eumelus, Antilochus, Menelaus, and Meriones. The race, which was one lap around the stump of a tree, was won by Diomedes, who received a slave woman and a cauldron as his prize. A chariot race was also said to be the event that founded the Olympic Games; according to one legend, King Oenomaus challenged his daughter Hippodamia's suitors to a race, but was defeated by Pelops, who founded the Games in honour of his victory. Jason lie to ride on ponies This article is about the speed competition. ... For other uses, see Chariot (disambiguation). ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ... For other uses, see Literature (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... title page of the Rihel edition of ca. ... A cup depicting Achilles bandaging Patroklos arm, by the Sosias Painter. ... DiomÄ“dÄ“s or Diomed (Gk:Î”Î¹Î¿Î¼Î®Î´Î·Ï‚ - God-like cunning or advised by Zeus) is a hero in Greek mythology, mostly known for his participation in the Trojan War. ... Eumelus was the name of several men in Greek mythology: A Eumelus succeeded Adrastus as the King of Pherae. ... In Greek mythology, Antilochus (also transliterated as AntÃlokhos) was the son of Nestor, king of Pylos. ... Menelaus regains Helen, detail of an Attic red-figure crater, ca. ... Meriones was a son of Molus and Melphis. ... Slave redirects here. ... Three-legged iron pots being used to cater for a school-leavers party in Botswana. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa was the son of Ares by Harpina (daughter of Phliasian Asopus) and father of Hippodamia. ... Hippodamia, also Hippodamea, was a daughter of King Oenomaus and mother of Thyestes, Atreus, and Pittheus, Alacathous by Pelops. ... In Greek mythology, Pelops (Greek Î ÎÎ»Î¿Ïˆ, from pelios: dark; and ops: face, eye) was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Olympic Games, the most important expression of unity, not only for the Peloponnesus, land of Pelops, but for all Hellenes. ...

Olympic Games

In the ancient Olympic Games, as well as the other Panhellenic Games, there were both four-horse (tethrippon) and two-horse (synoris) chariot races, which were essentially the same aside from the number of horses. The chariot racing event was first added to the Olympics in 680 BC (but was not, in reality, the founding event). The race was begun by a procession into the hippodrome, while a herald announced the names of the drivers and owners. The hippodrome at Olympia was about 600 yards long and 300 yards wide, and up to 60 chariots could race at one time (though in practice the number was probably much lower). It was located beneath a hill which provided standing room for possibly as many as 10,000 spectators. The tethrippon consisted of twelve laps around the hippodrome, with sharp turns around the posts at either end. Various mechanical devices were used, including the starting gates (hyspleges, sing. hysplex) which were lowered to start the race. According to Pausanias these were invented by the architect Kleoitas, and staggered so that the chariots on the outside began the race earlier than those on the inside. The race did not actually begin properly until the final gate was opened, at which point each chariot would be more-or-less lined up alongside each other, although the ones that had started on the outside would have been travelling faster than the ones in the middle. Other mechanical devices known as the "eagle" and the "dolphin" were raised to signify that the race had begun, and were lowered as the race went on to signify the number of laps remaining. These were probably bronze carvings of those animals, set up on posts at starting line. Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games (Greek: ; Olympiakoi Agones) were a series of athletic competitions held between various city-states of Ancient Greece. ... Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece. ... For other uses, see Hippodrome (disambiguation). ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ...

Unlike the other Olympic events, charioteers did not perform in the nude (see nudity in sports), probably for safety reasons because of the dust kicked up by the horses and chariots, and the likelihood of bloody crashes. Racers wore a garment called a xystis. It fell to the ankles and was fastened high at the waist with a plain belt. Two straps that crossed high at the upper back prevented the xystis from "ballooning" during the race. Like modern jockeys, chariot racers were chosen for their lightness, but also needed to be tall, so they were frequently teenagers. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games (Greek: ; Olympiakoi Agones) were a series of athletic competitions held between various city-states of Ancient Greece. ... Nudity in sport, i. ... The racecourse in Chester. ...

The chariots themselves were modified war chariots, essentially wooden carts with two wheels and an open back, although chariots were by this time no longer used in battle. The charioteer's feet were held in place, but the cart rested on the axle, so the ride was bumpy. The most exciting part of the chariot race, at least for the spectators, was the turns at the ends of the hippodrome. These turns were very dangerous and often deadly. If a chariot had not already been knocked over by an opponent before the turn, it might be overturned or crushed (along with the horses and driver) by the other chariots as they went around the post. Deliberately running into an opponent to cause him to crash was technically illegal, but nothing could be done about it (at Patroclus' funeral games, Antilochus in fact causes Menelaus to crash in this way), and crashes were likely to happen by accident anyway. In Greek mythology, Antilochus (also transliterated as AntÃlokhos) was the son of Nestor, king of Pylos. ... Menelaus regains Helen, detail of an Attic red-figure crater, ca. ...

The chariot race was not as prestigious as the stadion (the foot race), but it was more important than other equestrian events such as racing on horseback, which were dropped from the Olympic Games very early on. In Mycenaean times the driver and owner would have been the same person, and therefore the winning driver received the prize. However, by the time of the Panhellenic Games, the owners usually had slaves who did the actual driving, and it was the owner who was awarded the prize. Arsecilas, the king of Cyrene, won the chariot race at the Pythian Games in 462 BC, when his slave driver was the only one to finish the race. In 416 BC the Athenian general Alcibiades had seven chariots in the race, and came in first, second and fourth; obviously he could not have been racing all seven chariots himself. Philip II of Macedon also won an Olympic chariot race in an attempt to prove he was not a barbarian, though if he had driven the chariot himself he would likely have been considered even lower than a barbarian. However, the poet Pindar did praise the courage of Herodotos for driving his own chariot. This rule also meant that women could technically win the race, despite the fact that women were not allowed to participate in or even watch the Games. This happened rarely, but a notable example is the Spartan Cynisca, daughter of Archidamus II, who won the chariot race twice. Chariot racing was a way for Greeks to demonstrate their prosperity at the games. Lycurgus criticized chariot racing by saying that it was not as useful as building city walls or temples. Map of downtown Rome during the Roman Empire showing the Stadion on the right The stadion (or stade) was an ancient foot race, part of the Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games. ... Cyrene, the ancient Greek city (in present-day Libya) was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region and gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times. ... View of the stadium of the Delphi sanctuary, used for the Pythian Games. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: ; English /Ã¦lsÉªbaÉªÉ™di:z/; 450 BCâ€“404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. ... Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. ... For other uses, see Barbarian (disambiguation). ... For the PINDAR military bunker in London, please see the PINDAR section of Military citadels under London Pindar (or Pindarus, Greek: ) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae, a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos), was a Greek lyric poet. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... Cynisca (Kyniska - meaning puppy) was a Spartan princess who was born around 440 BC. She was the sister of Spartan king Agesilaus II. She became the first woman in history to win at the ancient Olympic Games. ... Archidamus II was a king of Sparta who reigned from approximately 469 BC to 427 BC. He was of the Eurypontid house. ... In Ancient Greece and/or Greek mythology, the name Lycurgus/Lykurgus can refer to: An alternate name for Lycomedes. ...

Chariot racing was also an event at other games in the Greek world, and was the most important event at the Panathenaic Games in Athens. At these games, the winner of the four-horse chariot race was given 140 amphorae of olive oil, an extremely expensive prize, as this was more oil than an athlete would ever need in his career. Most of it was probably sold to other athletes. There was another form of chariot racing at the Panathenaic Games, known as the apobotai or the anabotai. This involved jumping out of the chariot and running alongside for some distance (the anabotai); the apobotai apparently also including jumping back into the chariot after running alongside it. In these races there was a second driver who held the reins while the first driver jumped out, but of course neither of these were considered the winner. The first chariot over the line would win, no matter if the driver was in the chariot or out. If the driver crashed, and could still walk, he would win if he crossed the finish line on foot. Jason like to ride on ponies because it make him so happy Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 255 KB) Charioteer of Delphi. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 255 KB) Charioteer of Delphi. ... The Charioteer of Delphi, (Delphi Museum) The Charioteer of Delphi, also known as Heniokhos (the rein-holder), is one of the best-known statues surviving from Ancient Greece, and is considered one of the finest examples of ancient bronze statues. ... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... The racecourse in Chester. ... Vase ca. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Panathenic Amphora: LÃ¤ufer These were the large ceramic vessels that contained the oil given as prizes in the Panathenaic Games. ... For the Popeye character, see Olive Oyl. ...

Roman chariot racing

The Romans probably borrowed chariot racing from the Etruscans, who themselves borrowed it from the Greeks, but the Romans were also influenced directly by the Greeks especially after they conquered mainland Greece in 146 BC. The Etruscan civilization existed in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman Republic. ...

According to Roman legend chariot racing was used by Romulus just after he founded Rome in 753 BC as a way of distracting the Sabine men. Whilst the Sabines were enjoying the spectacle Romulus and his men seized and carried off the Sabine women. This event is more commonly known as "The Rape of the Sabine Women." The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini - singular Sabinus) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... Facsimile of the sculpture in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. ...

In ancient Rome chariot races commonly took place in a circus. The main centre of chariot racing was the Circus Maximus in the valley between Palatine Hill and Aventine Hill, which could seat 250,000 people. The Circus probably dated back to the time of the Etruscans, but it was rebuilt by Julius Caesar around 50 BC so that it had a length of about 600 metres (1,970 ft) and a width of about 225 metres (740 ft). One end of the track was more open than the other, as this was where the chariots lined up to begin the race. The Romans used a series of gates known as carceres, an equivalent to the Greek hysplex. These were staggered in the same way as the hysplex, but they were slightly different because Roman racing tracks also had a median (the spina) in the centre of the track. The carceres took up the angled end of the track, and the chariots were loaded into spring-loaded gates. When the chariots were ready, the emperor (or whoever was hosting the races, if they were not in Rome) dropped a cloth known as a mappa, signalling the beginning of the race. The gates would spring open, creating a perfectly fair beginning for all participants. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Found all over the Roman Empire, a circus is a building for public entertainment, including chariot racing. ... For other uses, see Circus Maximus (disambiguation). ... 17th century aviaries on the hill, built by Rainaldi for Odoardo Cardinal Farnese: once wirework cages surmounted them. ... The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ...

Once the race had begun, the chariots could move in front of each other in an attempt to cause their opponents to crash into the spinae (singular spina). The spinae had "eggs", similar to the "dolphins" of the Greek races, which may have dropped into a channel of water that ran along the top of the spinae to signify the number of laps remaining. The spina eventually became very elaborate, with statues and obelisks and other forms of art, so that the spectators often could not see the chariots on the other side (but they seem to have thought this was more suspenseful and exciting). At either end of the spina was a conical column marking the goal or turning point (meta, plural metae), and spectacular crashes took place there, as in the Greek races. Crashes in which the chariot was destroyed and the charioteer and horses incapacitated were known as naufragia, also the Latin word for shipwrecks. For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

The race itself was much like its Greek counterpart, although there were eventually dozens of races every day, sometimes for hundreds of consecutive days each year. However, a race consisted of only 7 laps (and later 5 laps, so that there could be even more races per day), instead of the 12 laps of the Greek race. The Roman style was also more money-oriented; racers were professionals and there was widespread betting among spectators. There were four-horse chariots (quadrigae) and two-horse chariots (bigae), but the four-horse races were more important. In rare cases, if a driver wanted to show off his skill, he could use up to 10 horses, although this was extremely impractical. The Roman drivers also wore helmets and other protective gear, unlike the Greeks, and they wrapped the reins round their waist, while the Greeks held the reins in their hands. Because of this the Romans could not let go of the reins in a crash, so they would be dragged around the circus until they were killed or they freed themselves. The Romans carried a knife to cut themselves free in this situation. The most famous and best reconstruction of a Roman chariot race, although inaccurate in several elements, can be seen in the film Ben-Hur. Large version of RomanChariot. ... Large version of RomanChariot. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other uses, see Circus Maximus (disambiguation). ... A quadriga (from the Latin language quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games, and represented in profile as the usual chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and bas-reliefs. ... Ben-Hur is a 1959 epic film directed by William Wyler, and is the third version of Lew Wallaces novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). ...

Another important difference was that the charioteers themselves, the aurigae, were considered to be the winners, although they were usually also slaves (as in the Greek world). They received a wreath of laurel leaves, and probably some money; if they won enough races they could buy their freedom. Drivers could become celebrities throughout the Empire simply by surviving, as the life expectancy of a charioteer was not very high. One such celebrity driver was Scorpus, who won over 2000 races before being killed in a collision at the meta when he was about 27 years old. The horses, too, could become celebrities, but their life expectancy was also low. The Romans kept detailed statistics of the names, breeds, and pedigrees of famous horses. Scorpus the mighty! Greatest charioteer of all time! The man of Steel! These were but a few nicknames that the charioteer Scorpus accrued in his short stay upon this Earth. ...

Seats in the Circus were free for the poor, who by the time of the Empire had little else to do, as they were no longer involved in political or military affairs as they had been in the Republic. The wealthy could pay for shaded seats where they had a better view, and they probably also spent much of their times betting on the races. The emperor's palace was located close to the Hippodrome, and he would often watch the games as well. This was one of the few opportunities for the general population to view their leader. Julius Caesar frequently watched the races specifically so that the public could see him, although he apparently was not very interested as he usually brought something to read. Apparently he also brought paperwork to the theatre too although this did not make him very popular. This article refers to the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For alternate meanings, see Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ...

Nero was interested in the races almost to the exclusion of everything else. He was a driver himself, and won the chariot racing event at the Olympic Games, which were still being held in the Roman era. Under Nero the major racing factions began to develop. The four most important factions were the Reds, Blues, Greens, and Whites. They had existed before Nero, probably as friends and patrons of the various stables that produced the racehorses. Nero, however, subsidized them so that they grew almost beyond his control. Each team could have up to three chariots each in a race. Members of the same team often collaborated with each other against the other teams, for example to force them to crash into the spina (a legal and encouraged tactic). Drivers could switch teams, much like athletes can be traded to different teams today. For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ...

According to the disapproving Tertullian (De spectaculis 9.5), there were originally just two factions, White and Red, sacred to winter and summer respectively. Writing near the beginning of the third century, he wrote that the Reds were dedicated to Mars, the Whites to the Zephyrs, the Greens to Mother Earth or spring, and the Blues to the sky and sea or autumn. Domitian created two new factions, the Purples and Golds, which disappeared soon after he did. By the 3rd century only the Blues and Greens had any importance. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. ... Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind and the goddess Chloris, from a 1875 engraving by William-Adolphe Bouguereau In Greek mythology, the Anemoi (in Greek, Î†Î½ÎµÎ¼Î¿Î¹ â€” winds) were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction, from which their respective winds came, and were each associated with various... Mother Earth is a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life. ... Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 â€“ 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor of the gens Flavia. ...

There were many other circuses throughout the Roman Empire; there was even another major circus outside Rome, the Circus of Maxentius. There were major circuses at Alexandria and Antioch, and Herod the Great built four circuses in Judaea. In the 4th century Constantine I built a circus in his new capital at Constantinople. Found all over the Roman Empire, a circus is a building for public entertainment, including chariot racing. ... Circus built as part of a funerary complex by the emperor Maxentius. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... Herod the Great. ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272â€“May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

Byzantine chariot racing

Like many other aspects of the Roman world, chariot racing continued in the Byzantine Empire, although the Byzantines did not keep as many records and statistics as the Romans did. Constantine preferred chariot racing to gladiatorial combat, which he considered a vestige of paganism. The Olympic Games were eventually ended by the devoutly Christian emperor Theodosius I in 394, in a move to suppress paganism and promote Christianity, but chariot racing continued to be popular. The Hippodrome of Constantinople (really a Roman circus, not the open space that the original Greek hippodromes were) was connected to the emperor's palace and the Church of Hagia Sophia, allowing spectators to view the emperor as they had in Rome. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 Ã— 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 Ã— 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... A quadriga (from the Latin language quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games, and represented in profile as the usual chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and bas-reliefs. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... For other uses, see Gladiator (disambiguation). ... Pagan and heathen redirect here. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... The Hippodrome today, with the Walled Obelisk in the foreground Obelisk of Thutmosis III The base of the Obelisk of Thutmosis III showing Theodosius the Great as he offers a laurel wreath to the victor from the Kathisma (emperors box) at the Hippodrome The Delphi Tripod known as the... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ...

There is not much evidence that the chariot races were subject to bribes or other forms of cheating in the Roman Empire. In the Byzantine Empire there seems to have been more cheating; Justinian I's reformed legal code prohibits drivers from placing curses on their opponents, but otherwise there does not seem to have been any mechanical tampering or bribery. Wearing the colours of your team became an important aspect of Byzantine dress. This article is about the Roman emperor. ... // Overview Byzantine Dress changed vastly over the centuries. ...

Chariot racing in the Byzantine Empire also included the Roman racing clubs, but by this time only the Blues and Greens were important. One of the most famous charioteers, Porphyrius, was a member of both the Blues and the Greens at various times in 5th century. However, they were now more than simply sports teams. They gained influence in military, political, and theological matters, with, for example, the Greens tending towards Monophysitism and the Blues remaining Orthodox. They also developed in something like street gangs, responsible for robberies and murders. Although they had rioted as far back as the reign of Nero, the rioting throughout the 5th century and into the 6th century culminated in the Nika riots of 532 during the reign of Justinian, which began when some of their members were arrested for murder. Chariot racing seems to have declined after this incident, but it had in any case become much too expensive for the racing teams, or even the emperors, to pay for. Porphyrius the Charioteer (also known as Calliopas) was a renowned Roman charioteer in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. In the time of Porphyrius, Roman chariot-racing was at its height. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... The Nika riots (Greek: Î£Ï„Î¬ÏƒÎ· Ï„Î¿Ï… ÎÎ¯ÎºÎ±), or Nika revolt, took place over the course of a week in Constantinople in 532. ...

By the 9th century the Whites had merged with the Blues, and the Reds with the Greens, and the two merged groups were formed into municipal militias, and so incorporated into the enormous hierarchy of the Byzantine state.

The Hippodrome in Constantinople remained a sanctuary for the emperors, until it was sacked during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. During the looting, the Crusaders removed the Horses of Saint Mark, four bronze statues originally part of a monument depicting a quadrigae built by Constantine the Great. The horses still exist, but they are now at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (EugÃ¨ne Delacroix, 1840). ... The original Horses of Saint Mark The Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of Saint Mark is a set of Roman or Greek bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga. ... A quadriga (from the Latin language quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games, and represented in profile as the usual chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and bas-reliefs. ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272â€“May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... San Marco di Venezia, as seen from the Piazza San Marco St Marks Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco) is the most famous of the churches of Venice and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ...

Sources

Categories: Articles lacking in-text citations | Horse racing | Ancient chariot racing | Former Olympic sports | Ancient Olympic Games D.C. Heath And Company is a small publishing company located at 125 Spring Street in Lexington, Massachusetts. ... Viking Press was founded on March 1, 1925, in New York City, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim. ... Cornell University Press, established in 1869, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States and is one of the countrys largest university presses. ... University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. ... University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. ... The Stanford University Press is a publishing house, a division of Stanford University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

Contents

Early chariot racing var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

Olympic Games

Roman chariot racing

Byzantine chariot racing

Sources

Early chariot racing