terewtoys.blogg.se

• #The last byzantine chariot races professional

In the later Roman empire, in Constantinople, the charioteers formed teams that were known by their colors (Red, White, Green, and Blue). So people kept on going to the races long after the gladiatorial games stopped. Roman chariot-racing in the later Roman EmpireĬhariot-racing was okay with the Christians, even though gladiatorial games weren’t. Emperors learned that these messages were important, and they listened to them, though they didn’t always do what people wanted. To get their message across, they all chanted together: “Give us bread!” or “Down with Sejanus!” Other times, people held up written signs. So this was a place where people could let the Emperor know how they felt about things. A lot of people were at the circus for the races. But they did come to the circus, to see the chariot races. And Roman emperors didn’t appear in public very much. If they protested, the Roman government sent soldiers to hit them or kill them. The people of Rome didn’t have the right to assemble in public and protest against things their government did, the way Americans do today. More about curse tablets Politics at the race-track Because of this, archaeologists find lots of curse tablets buried in the ground all around the big circuses. Or sometimes gamblers wrote curses on pieces of lead and buried them in the ground. Some of them offered presents to charioteers. Gamblers who bet on the races and wanted to win tried all kinds of ways to make sure their chariot would win. And often the charioteers or the horses were killed. So just as we have crashes at Nascar races, or the Indy 500, the Romans often had chariot crashes. Chariot-driving itself was very dangerous. Slavery in ancient Rome Women in ancient RomeĪs far as we know, women didn’t drive chariots, though women could own chariots and horses. So charioteers sometimes became very famous, and even rich, from the presents people gave them. Charioteers who won a lot of races were very popular.

#The last byzantine chariot races professional

Professional charioteers (often enslaved) drove the chariots. Roman circus games: A mosaic from the 500s AD in Gafsa (North Africa), now in the Bardo Museum Can you see the people sitting in the stands? The central posts to turn around?The charioteers whipping the horses? Roman charioteers