The very term for the crash – naufragia (shipwreck) evokes the dangers and horrors of this sport. One of the documented events reported a crash of up to forty chariots. Two-horse ( biga ) and four-horse ( quadriga ) chariots led by amateur charioteers raced on a racetrack called hippodrome, with up to sixty chariots participating in the same race. However, those imposing vehicles gained popularity in sports events.įor ancient Greeks, chariot racing was an important part of the Olympic games. Gods raced fiery chariots across the sky, while earthly rulers and high priests used them in religious and triumphal processions. Chariots, however, preserved a special place in their culture. Greeks, and later, Romans, did not use chariots in battle, relying on infantry instead. Lightweight and agile, it was the most powerful unit in the armies of the ancient empires such as Egypt, Assyria, or Persia. The first chariot appeared in the Bronze age as a vehicle of war. The Evolution Of Chariot Racing In The Ancient World The Chariot Race in the Hippodrome, Alexander von Wagner, 1882, Manchester Art Gallery In the sixth century’s Constantinople, one of such discussions went wrong, resulting in a horrible massacre known as the Nika riot. They were places where common people had a rare opportunity to see their emperor, and more importantly, engage in discussion with the imperial majesty. The most famous of them, the Circus Maximus in Rome and the Hippodrome in Constantinople, were the social and political hearts of the two imperial capitals. But grandiose racetracks were more than sporting arenas. The lucky winner could turn into a superstar, gaining fame and a good deal of fortune.
CHARIOT RACES OLYMPIC GAMES DRIVERS
Chariot drivers would mesmerize their spectators with displays of daring courage, skillful horsemanship, and tactical ingenuity as they strove for victory through a combination of speed, strength, and risk. Grand arenas, located in major imperial cities, were places of lavish spectacles, organized by the emperors to boost their popularity and prestige among the people. 1638, Museo del Pradoįor ancient Romans, nothing was more sensational than chariot racing. Paul spent two years at Corinth and though there is some difficulty in determining the times at which the games were celebrated, yet it seems almost certain that they recurred every second year at the end of spring or the beginning of summer.The Horses of Saint Mark, 2nd or 3rd century CE, Basilica di San Marco with The Chariot Race in the Hippodrome, Alexander von Wagner, 1882, Manchester Art Gallery and The Circus Maximus in Rome, Domenico Gargiulo and Viviano Codazzi, ca. But further it will be remembered that on his first visit St. It might be argued à priori that this is highly probable for great numbers came at these seasons from all parts of the Mediterranean to witness or take part in the contests and … it is likely that the Apostle just as he desired to be at Jerusalem during the Hebrew festivals so would gladly preach the Gospel at a time when so vast a concourse met at the Isthmus, whence as from a center it might be carried to every shore with the dispersion of the strangers.
He Isthmus of Corinth was one of four sanctuaries where the most celebrated games were periodically held … an interesting question suggests itself here viz whether the Apostle was ever himself present during the Isthmian games. Paul, the author explains the probability that St. In the 19th-century book The Life and Epistles of St.