Situated in the valley between two of Rome's famous seven hills, the Aventine and the Palatine, the racing surface of the Circus Maximus was about 600 yards long and 100 yards wide. It was enlarged several times over the centuries and reached its greatest size during the time of the emperor Trajan (98-117). The last known games to be held in it were in 549 A.D., so it was in use for at least 800 years, and possibly longer. However, the first reliable reference we have to it is from 329 B.C. during the reign of the fifth king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus (616-579 B.C.).
#SDSU CHARIOT RACES CRASH MOVIE#
Perhaps the most vivid picture we have of the spectacular Roman chariot races in the circus is the one seen in the movie Ben Hur (photo #4).Īccording to one tradition, the Circus Maximus was first built in about 600 B.C. However, the largest and most spectacular by far of all the Roman circuses was the Circus Maximus. Peter was martyred, and the Circus of Maxentius was on the Appian Way. The Flaminian Circus was in the area of the Campus Martius, the Circus of Caligula and Nero, where the Vatican is today, is where St. The popularity of the circus is evidenced by the number of circuses which existed in ancient times. So popular that the Roman poet Juvenal complained that the only thing the degenerate population was interested in were panem et circenses (bread and circus games). Suetonius, writing in the second century A.D., speaks of combats of wild beasts and, incredibly, of a battle between two opposing armies, each consisting of 500 men, 20 elephants and 30 cavalrymen! But a Roman circus was built primarily to accommodate chariot races, which were very popular with the Romans.
To the ancient Romans the circus was a large, more or less rectangular-shaped arena where various types of athletic games ( ludi) were held. The crowd for the celebration of Italy's victory in the World Cup soccer matches in 2002 filled the Circus Maximus and spilled out into the nearby streets. The obelisk in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano was added to the spina in 4 th century A.D.ĩ. The obelisk in Piazza del Popolo was set up on the spina in the 1 st century A.D.Ĩ. Most of the spectacular crashes took place at the turning points of the track.ħ.
There's not much to see at the Circus Maximus today except for the original shape of it.Ħ. Who can forget the famous scene of the chariot race in the movie Ben Hur?ĥ. This model gives you a good picture of the objects on the spina (the low center wall).Ĥ. Here you can see part of the Colosseum at the top right.ģ. This re-creation shows the position of the Circus Maximus in relation to the river and the Tiber Island.Ģ.
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