ChariotRacing

Chariot Racing in the Ancient World

1. Greece, Rome and the predecessors

"So spoke Achilleus son of Peleus, and the swift charioteers drew near. ... Antilochos the fourth driver, the glorious son of Nestor, that king of lofty heart, the son of Neleus, got ready his horses with gleaming coats. Swift horses born in the land of Pylos drew his chariot. And his father, standing by his side, giving good advice to one who was himself naturally prudent spoke wisely this: 'Antilochos, although you are very young, Zeus and Poseidon have both loved you and taught you all kinds of skills at driving a chariot; therefore we need not teach you, for you know how to skilfully turn around the post. But your horses are the slowest. I therefore think that the race will be sorrowful to you. True, their horses are swifter, but the drivers do not know more than you. And so, my son, contrive a plan in your heart, so that the prize will not elude you ... Drive chariot and horses so close to this (the post) as to craze it, and the wellwrought car lean slightly to the left horse, and calling upon the right horse by name, prick him with your goad and let out its reins from your hand. Let your horses craze the post so that the hub of the well fashioned wheel will seem to touch it. But avoid making contact with the stone, so that you will not injure your horses and wreck your chariot, which would be a joy for your opponents and a distress to you ..." (Homer, Iliad 23, 334-348)
But horse racing, the ancient equivalent to Formula 1, doesn't begin here. The history of equestrian sports will probably change our perception of the ancient world in general, and our idea of Greece as the cradle of European civilisation in particular. In fact, when in the 2nd millennium b.C. the first horses appeared from Inner Asia in the Mesopotamian and near Eastern societies, Greece, Italy and let alone the rest of Europe lay very much at the outskirts of the civilised world.
In the beginning there was no question about using the animals in sports. War as the creator of things also proved to have the most impact in this case. A technological revolution in warfare comparable maybe to the introduction of battle tanks in the 20th century took place. The old chariots drawn by mules or oxen did not stand a chance against the swift and fast new vehicles. They spread all over the then known civilised world, as it always is the case with those uncivilised inventions. The armies of the empires of Sumer, Egypt, Ur, the Hittites, and what else their names might be, relied on increasing contingents of charioteers. In the battle of Kadesh (ca. 1275 b.C.), also known as a striking example of war propaganda, the Hittite army consisted of 20,000 soldiers, 3,500 of which were charioteers. And it is roughly this time when we have the first hint that chariots must have been known to the predecessors of the classical Greeks. In a letter to the "Wanax Agamemnon" (!) the Hittite great king writes: "..." Even if this is not Homer's Agamemnon this letter is a very strong indication that Homer does not simply write from the point of view of his times (i.e. c7th b.C.), as some might have it, but actually describes a society of long ago. However, that is a different problem. All of this still gives us no proof of the use of horses in a sporting environment. There are leisurely activities like hunting or shooting at targets from chariots by the great kings of Persia, the Egyptian pharaos or the Hittite kings but they have little to do with what we would regard as real sportsmanship. These occupations serve more as imperial propaganda and showing off the skills and strength of the rulers. To find the origins of our phenomenon we have again to turn back to the edges of the then civilised world, to Greece and the islands of the Aegean. In these centuries first the countless king- and dukedoms of the Minoan and later the Mycenean culture took the place of what was later to be seen as the cradle of European civilisation. The still ongoing excavations and the exciting discoveries of the last 100 years have brought numerous new results and are still changing our view of the world before the classic age. They have also shed some light on the development of horse racing as a sport.
The finds in the cities of Knossos, Mycene, Tiryns, Pylos, that is in their archives illustrate the richness of their rulers, the administration of their realms and the structure of their societies. The lists of the palace of Pylos for example contained not only live stock and precious goods, but - and this is of particular importance for us - hundreds of spooked wheels. The same applies to the tables found in Tiryns, Mycene and Knossos. We read about wheels, about chariots, learn their number and condition. Additionally, finds of clay models give us a further idea about their shape and even different types in use. Still, we could not be sure about their use besides warfare if we had not even more proof: a number of fragments of pottery from Tiryns show two and more chariots, obviously in the middle of a race! We can see the vehicles, a turning post and the flowing hair of the jockeys.
This is a decisive indication at chariot racing as a sport as early as the c13th b.C.. The others are well known, the Ilias and numerous other Greek legends. For example the one about the notorious king Oinomaos of Olympia, which is said to describe the origins of the Olympic games: In order to win the hand of his daughter the candidate had to beat him in a chariot race, otherwise the unlucky contestant had to suffer dead from the hands of the jealous father! The hero Pelops managed to win the (literally) attractive prize, but only by replacing the nails which held the wheels of the king's chariot by those made of wax! The result of this manipulation was the destruction of the chariot and the death of the king. Thus, the most famous games of the world past and now began with a fraud! Illustrations and legends also make clear that many of the early races took place in a funerary surrounding. In the Iliad for example games are held to honour the fallen Patroklos, friend of Achilleus. It also gives us an idea about the enormous prizes which could be won: "...First he (Achilleus) ordered the noble prizes to be set aside for the swift charioteers. The first prize was a woman skilled in graceful handicraft and a tripod with two handles holding twenty-two measures. And for second he designated an unbroken mare, six years old, carrying in her womb a mule foal. And for third he set aside a handsome kettle that had never been put over the fire, holding four measures, still as bright as it was on the day it was made; and for fourth he set aside two talents of gold; and for fifth he put a double cup which had never been put over the fire..."
Thus it seems certain enough that horse racing took place at least in the 14th to 12th centuries b.C. After that the attacks of the "Sea People" and the "Doric Migration" put an end to the Mycenean civilization. Both terms and both phenomenons have come under scrutiny recently and are nowadays only used with caution and to describe events of various origin which led to the so called "Dark Ages". This timespan, characterised by a lack of sources, stretches roughly to the 8th century b.C. From then on begins the Archaic age which lays the foundations for the classical culture as we know it. And now the archaeological sources begin to flow richer again: chariot races are depicted on late Geometric vases, and in 680 we see the official birth of chariot racing as a sport when it was included in the program of the Olympic games. This development is also remarkable as a turning point in social history: Formerly the leisurely occupation of a few aristocrats (and before that of kings) who even competed themselves, the chariots now were increasingly steered by professionals. At this point it has to be noted that although the owners mostly did not drive themselves, the victory always belonged to them, not to the jockeys! Which, of course is a parallel to contemporary records which list owners first, then horses and only after that the jockeys. The development over the following centuries would equally reflect changes in society. Later, even rich dealers would be able to send their chariots to the games, and after that also women appear in the winners' lists of the Olympics.
Apart from the Olympics, as a result of the rise of the Greek cities of the classic period, other great festivals emerged. There were literally hundreds of competitions in Minor Asia, Magna Graecia and the motherland providing the opportunity for athletes to gain fame and riches. The best respected were the "crown games", the Olympics, the Isthmians in Korinth, the Zeus games at Nemea, the Pythians in Delphi, the Panatheneans. The name derives from the the attributes for the winners, wreaths of laurel, olive, pine and wild fennel. But these were only the official signs of victory. More substantially, for example in Athens the victorious charioteers received up to 140 (!) amphoras of in ancient times very much sought after and precious olive oil. Prizes at other competitions included corn in Eleusis, bronze shields in Argos, silver vessels in Marathon etc.. In addition the returning athletes gained various benefits in their native towns, like tax exemptions, free clothing and meals, even prize money wasn't unusual. A winner from Athens obtained 500 drachmas, the equivalent of a years wages for a craftsman. Statues were erected in honour of them in precious metals, they were granted political posts, priesthoods and honorary functions. An even more professional approach came, when the hippodromes were taken over by the new political power, Rome, which thus also imposed a deep social and cultural change. Here horseracing had allegedly been introduced by the former Etruscan kings - Romulus, or as different historical sources say Tarquinius Priscus, who after Livius laid the foundations for the Circus Maximus. For the first few centuries however racing sport did somehow not quite pick up, understandably in a "res publica", mostly inhabited by peasants and in constant conflicts with its surrounding neighbours. After the defeat of the Carthaginians, the expansion towards the Greek south of Italy and the arrival on the Greek motherlands from the 3rd to the 2nd centuries b.C. unimaginable riches began to flow to Rome. The privileged citizenship of the capital had to be amused and kept at bay. Thus the rise of a "leisure industry", which coincides with the decline of the Greek festivals, begins. The history of the first century is the history of decades of civil war, during which the changing political leaders used games as a politics means to draw the masses on their sides. It is also the time when the "factiones" first appear, parties supporting different racing stables distinct by colour: green, blue, red and white, and much later and only for a short while purple and gold. Finally, under the emperors the phenomenon of the "panes et circenses" took its distinctive shape and the circus became the favourite place and occupation of the masses. The ever growing attraction of the circus can also be seen in the increasing use of motives from the world of racing on items for everyday use, on mosaics, wall paintings, and in funeral art, where putti, goddesses, fauns, in short every possible and impossible living form was put into the context of racing. Back to the circus where the masses gathered, divided into their favourite colours. The seating order reflected the different strata of the Roman society. The first rows were reserved for the senators, high ranking officials and the Vestal Virgins. Then came the knights, after that different bodies, guilds and colleges, and finally the mass of common people. Even the different corporations of priests had their own and not to be usurped places! The more the Roman people had lost their former political role and influence the more they were drawn to the races, and, paradoxically, it soon became a highly politicised space. It was here where political events and personalities were discussed and approval or discontent expressed.
Thus for example, it is no accident that circusses all over the Roman world were built close to the local palaces of the emperors or officials. The "pulvinar", or "kathisma", the Royal box, which in the new circus of Constantinople replaced the tribunal, was the place where the emperor was expected to appear at least at certain occasions, and, even if he did not watch the races, so at least to open them by throwing the "mappa". We have a number of vivid description of how the audience - in the Circus Maximus between 100,000-250,000 - noisily greeted the emperor, addressed him with thoroughly orchestrated chants, gained benefits, had officials suspended or simply expressed their dedication to their rulers. Often enough riots with horrific results took their origin from the heated atmosphere of the races - the uncontrollable masses streamed into the cities incensed by unscrupulous leaders.
A number of yearly calendars with a list of public holidays, festivals and celebrations have come upon us, which give us a fairly accurate idea about the races, the programmes and the extent. One of them, the so-called calendar of Philocalus, quotes no less than 180 public holidays for the year 354 A.D. in Rome, all of which included races. The number increased from only a few to 6 and 12 and later up to 24 races a day in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.! Horseracing did not end during the first millennium A.D. in Constantinople under the Byzantine Emperors. It proved no less popular in the Christian era than in the pagan centuries before. However in the rest of the former empire with the withdrawal of Roman troops and administration also the Roman civilisation disappeared.
After Byzantium had for the first time fallen under the unscrupulous attacks of the crusaders, horseracing eventually disappeared also in the east. A print of the hippodrome in Constantinople from the 15th century shows a derelict site, a few walls still standing, the spina robbed of its splendour. Today only obelisks and the Serpent Column stand where for centuries the masses gathered.
One might ask why the concentration so heavily on chariot racing? The answer is simple: horse riding was not as widespread and attractive to the ancient public. At the local Greek games some races of this kind took place - the best known are probably the Apobatoi-competitions of the Panathenians - but compared to the huge masses which went to the chariot races they developed comparably small attraction.

2. Race courses and chariots

Much effort has been put in what can best be described as the technical side of ancient racing. In this respect the ancient world stands every comparison with today's Formula 1 circus. The design of hippodromes and chariots also throws a significant light on both inventiveness and technical capabilities of its engineers and builders. However it was not before the Romans took over horse racing that massive changes and improvements took place. Hardly anything is left of the Classical Greek sites, even in Olympia where the most important races took place. The ancient traveller Pausanias describes the site, which he saw in the 2nd century A.D.:
"As one passes out of the stadium ...one comes to the hippodrome and the staring gate for the horses. This starting gate looks like the forepart of a ship, with the projecting bows pointing towards the track. The prow is the widest where it is nearest the Stoa of Agnaptos; at the very tip of the projection is a bronze dolphin on a pole. Each wing of the gate, with the stalls built into it, is more than 400 feet long. The entrants for the equestrian events draw lots for the stalls; the barrier in front of the chariots and ridden horses consists of a cord passing through the stalls. For each Olympiad a plinth of unbaked brick is built at about the middle of the prow, and on this plinth is a bronze eagle with its wings fully extended. The starter works the mechanism on the plinth: when it is set in motion, it causes the eagle to jump up so it becomes visible to the spectator, while the dolphin falls to the ground. The traps at each end ... open first ... "
One after the other the chariots are released on the track with the ones in the middle starting last. After 320m in straight lanes, used to get the best possible position, a trumpet was blown, from which sign on they were allowed to leave the lanes and the race started in earnest. Now they entered the u-shaped course itself, marked by two turning posts , in Greek "nyssa", with a distance of 3 stadiums between them, i.e 576m. The opinions about the actual distances of the races differ, but it seems most likely that the usual races were over 1, 2, 3, 8 and 12 rounds, i.e. short, middle and long distance races. Apart from various distances, there were different disciplines, like two-, and fourhanded races, or, depending on the animals used, those with foals, mares, studs or even mules and asses. It has been argued that also races with female jockeys took place but this seems to be a misunderstanding.
Many of the Greek local games survived throughout Antiquity and attracted owners, charioteers and spectators from all over the known world. The last Olympic chariot races took place around a thousand years after they began. Today's games still have a long way to go!
The character of racing the Roman style is altogether different. Its main aim was to attract and distract the masses. Although the Circus Maximus, which was to be the most famous race course of the Roman Empire for centuries - the Silverstone, or Ascot of the ancient world - has disappeared under later buildings, we have a very good idea of the scale and design of these buildings. This is partly due to the fact that Romans style chariot racing spread all over the Mediterranean world. Almost every average town had its own racecourse. The best preserved circuses are probably the one in Lepcis Magna and the circus of Maxentius besides the Via Appia. Vivid descriptions of races by Ovid, Cassiodor and Sidonius and many others, inscriptions full of details, the Forma Urbis (a third century marble map of Rome), the obelisk of Theodosius etc., complete our picture. Like the hippodrome it resembled a stretched U, with a long starting straight and the actual racecourse. Other than in Greece however, the chariots started from a curved line leaving the stalls, the "carceres", 12 in the Circus Maximus, in straight lanes. On contemporary sarcophagi we can see the carceres, closed by vergitterte doors and above them, in the middle of the stalls, the "tribunal editoris", the box of the official in whose name the games were held.
A white line marked the point from where on the lanes could be left. Everybody then headed for the best position to enter the track at the near turning post, the "meta". It was connected to its corresponding post by a structure, called the "spina", which separated the two tracks. It was filled with decorative elements - a historian who witnessed the fall of Constantinople in 1204 also describes the objects placed in the hippodrome, such as the famous horses above the carceres, which are nowadays to be seen in Venice, the Serpent Column, statues of the "Star-jockey" Porphyrius, the obelisks of the Theodosian dynasties and so forth. At some places it included a waterchannel, used to water the sand of the arena, a highly dangerous duty ausgeubt by little boys, the "sparsores". On the spina of the Circus Maximus there also was a much discussed counting device, a combination of rising and falling figures (silver eggs and dolphins) which indicated the rounds. Around the spina the chariots made their rounds, accompanied by "hortatores" and "moratores", who had to spurn or slow down the horses of the chariots as the situation required.

3. The Stars

It is amazing how many of the participants, horses and jockeys alike, are still known to us by name - a fact that illustrates their importance during their lifetimes. For them poems had been made, statues erected, names kept in winner's lists, or related by historians. In early Greek times we find many of the local rulers in the lists, the tyrants of Sicily, kings of Sparta, of Pergamon etc., and later wealthy tradesman and politicians. In Rome the racecourses and the fame clearly belonged to the jockeys.
One of the earlier celebrities on the track was one Scopus, active by the end of the first century A.D., who was honoured with an epitaph by a celebrity of an altogether different kind, the poet Martial: "I am Sorpus, the glory of the roaring circus, the object of Rome's cheers, and her short-lived darling. The Fates, counting not my years but the number of my victories, judged me to be an old man." And impressive his record is: at the time of his premature death - almost certainly on the racecourse - he had won 2,048 races! Death could arrive suddenly, and a number of epitaphs tell the stories of jockeys who died in their mid-twenties. The clothing of the drivers clearly did not provide enough protection: a helmet, leather cuirass over the tunic in the colours of their team, trousers sometimes strengthened with leather and greaves. But then, what could have protected them when their chariots, as it happened, collided or crashed against the barriers? They were lucky if they managed to cut themselves free from the reins which they usually had looped around their waists. Probably the most famous jockey, and his fame was spread all over the Roman world, and can only be compared to the likes of Carl Lewis, or more appropriately Damon Hill, was Porphyrios Calliopas. Born from Libya he was obviously brought up and taught his dangerous business in Constantinople around shortly before 500 A.D. He started racing at an early age, probably less than 18 years old - not exceptionally young when we compare him to other jockeys - in the great hippodrome of Constantinople which had by then taken over in from the Circus Maximus in Rome as the centre of chariot racing. In the more than forty years of his career he became so successful that at least six statues were erected for him on the spina of the hippodrome in Constantinople, three by the Greens and three by the Blues. It was not uncommon that drivers would not stay with one factio for the whole of their career, but change between them and also to the, still existing, minor stables of the reds and the whites.
A speciality of his was the "diversium". In order to prove his outstanding supremacy over the other jockeys he used to swap chariots with them - and still won!
The jockeys were well travelled men. Porphyrios himself is reported to have raced in Alexandria, Constantinople and Antiochia, where he also became the driving factor in an infamous incident happening in 507 A.D.. He had been engaged by the local green party to help them back to a winning streak after a long row of defeats - which expectations he promptly fulfilled. Incensed by their success they rampaged through the city to the noble suburbs of Daphne where a synagogue was set alight. After a series of battles against the blues and quickly moved in imperial troops, the situation was finally defused. We don't know of the consequences for Porphyrius, in the long run it did not seem to hinder his career. Years later we find him defending his emperor Anastasius against the attempt of an usurper Vitalian on the walls of Constantinople. It does not seem that he no longer was involved in the racing business when the Nika incident happened, one of the worst riots which ever originated from the circus and eventually left 30,000 dead!
Almost equally famous became the horses, like one appropriately named "Victor", superior horse of a 2nd century star, Publius Aelius Gutta Calpurnianus. The poet Martial complains about the fame of "Andraemon" (of the aforementioned Scorpus) being bigger than his own! On mosaics horses are often depicted with their names, many of them often used like Romulus, Jubilator, Lupus (Wolf) etc. And last not least we see the names of his horses accompany Prophyrius on his bases and share his fame: Nikopolemos, Radiatos, Halieus, Anthypathos, Aristides, Palaestiniarches and his favourite two Pyrros, Euthynikos.

4. The Audience. Panem et Circenses

"Now let me describe the mass of people, unemployed and with too much time on their hands ... For them the Circus Maximus is a temple, home, community centre and the fulfilment of all their hopes. All over the city you can see them quarrelling fiercely about the races ... They declare that the country will be ruined if at the next meeting their own particular champion does not come first out of the starting-gate and keep his horses in line as he brings them round the post. Before dawn on a race day they all rush headlong for a place on the terraces at such a speed that they could almost beat the chariots themselves."
However as we have seen these were not simply unorganised masses. The factions were much more than mere "fanclubs". Their area of their involvement was twofold. On the one hand they employed the teams of jockeys, horses, coaches, provided stables, technical and medical support - in short everything that was needed for the running of a successful racing stable. On the other hand they also betreuen the fans.
Originally in private hands, form the first century A.D. onwards the clubs in Rome were in fact run by the emperors and their officials. They appointed the heads, the "domini factionum". Its final and most sophisticated shape the factions took in the Byzantine era. The bureaucracy consisted not only of the "demarchoi", the heads and their deputies, but also of "notarii", "factionarii", "archontes" etc. all of whose functions are not entirely clear, but also most significantly of poets, musicians and conductors! Their duty was to lead the coloured audience through their acclamations, clapping, chanting and singing against the opposition.
The effect must have been breathtaking and very much similar to the football stadiums of Naples, Rome, or Milan of today. Long before the races started the spectators streamed into the circus. Sun roofs protected from the heat. While the course was prepared, the ground levelled and sprinkled with water, racing programmes were sold on the terraces, delicatessen offered, cushions distributed. Maybe shortly before the program started even the Emperor appeared in the pulvinar, and to the sound of an organ is greeted with elaborate acclamations by the masses: "God is one. Victory to the Romans. Our Lord have pity on us, our Lord's victorious for ever! May the victory of Theodosius grow strong! May the victory of Valentinia Augustus increase! May the victory of our Lords increase..." A procession, the "pompa", opens the games. The poet Ovid, although at this moment he is more attracted to the Roman beauty at his side, describes the scene: "But now the parade is coming! Now is the time to cheer and clap; the golden procession is here. First is Victory with her wings spread. ...Here's Neptun. Let the sailors applaud him, terra firma is enough for me. And leave it to the soldiers to cheer for Mars; I loathe the violence, I'm all for love and leisure ... Next comes Venus; she's the one for my money, she and her cupid with the bow ..." It also includes the officials for the race, the umpires, their aids and the stars of the games, the chariots manned by the jockeys. Then the chariots of the first, and most important, race draw the lots and are placed in the traps. All eyes turn to the tribunal or kathisma now. Here stands the editor of the games, mappa in hand - and as he drops it, the gates open and hell breaks loose! The chariots steer forward in their straights, towards the nearest meta, where the first collisions happen. The noise of the crowd must have been breathtaking as they head along the spina towards the turning point. The hortatores and moratores gallop alongside and do their best to support their team. The spectators on the opposite of the structure cannot see what is going on this side of the spina, so when the chariots turn and slide around the corner, guided by the "sinstri funales", the lead horses on the left, they are greeted with a roar: "... When you had covered the open stretch of the track, the part where it narrows and is enclosed by the long spina with its channel and lap counter caught you from our gaze. But when the turn round the far post restored them to your view, your second string was in the lead; your two opponents had passed you, and you were lying fourth. The two drivers in the middle hoped that the leader would swing out to the right on one of the turns and allow them to slip inside him and secure the inner berth. You kept your horses reined back, reserving your effort for the seventh lap, Sweat flew from horses and drivers, and the roar of the crowd grew louder...." The lap counter lowers another egg. Now that the horses have passed, officials hasten onto the course to clear it from debris before the chariots reappear. Water is sprinkled on the sand. Again they disappear from the sight of one half of the spectators. A trumpet signalises the last lap.
After the race the victorious charioteer is honoured by the "actuarius". A lap of honour concludes the first part of the day. Outstanding jockeys, and we can assume that Porphyrius counted among them, additionally had the right to wear the "kassidion", a silver helmet.
The intervals between the races are filled with performances of jugglers, pantomimes (stars in their own right in these days) and the dance of the factions. Sometimes even an occasional gladiatorial fight takes place, or at least a deer hunt. In the later days even death sentences were carried out in the circus.
After an exhausting day of 24 races the spectators leave the stadium in the afternoon. On the way home there are discussions, some heated arguments with members of the other colours, maybe a little fight. But already the expectations for the next day of racing is building up. After all we have seen that ancient horse racing was much more than just a sport: as one of classical societies' most important elements it also can serve as an illustration of how civilisation spread from the old centres in the east to Greece, Rome and finally to the European world. And racing in the ancient fashion also perished with the decline of the ancient empires only surviving for a while in the east with the heiress of ancient Rome, Byzantium. And with the dawn of new times and powers the preoccupation with the horse found itself new ways.

� Dirk Bennett 2003