 Here it is. The biggest circus or venue for chariot racing in the ancient world, the Circus Maximus. It once held 150,000 spectators and here's what it looked like at its height in the reign of Trajan located between the Palatine Palace on one side and the Aventine Hill on the other. Three principal events happened here. Racing, animal hunts and triumphal processions. Today we're going to concentrate on the racing that took place in the Circus Maximus, but first a brief history to understand just how it became Rome's greatest sporting venue. Tradition records that the Valley of Murcia, a local deity associated with Myrtle and Venus, was used by Romulus for celebratory games, honoring Consus, an agricultural deity also tied to Neptune, the god of the sea, but also a patron god of horsemen. He chose this then as the site of the rape of the Sabine women, honoring the gods and at the same time on the occasion of the festival stealing away the maidens from the neighboring Sabine tribe. The first historic mention of the space as a racetrack comes from the Tarquin Kings before the beginning of the Republic. They introduced chariot racing as celebratory events for victory already influenced by Greek chariot racing. Besides victory celebrations, the ludicircansis were heavily tied to annual religious festivals as a way to honor the gods. For example, the Ludiromani, or some of the most famous games held in the Circus, 15 days in September to honor Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Tradition states that already in the regal period, temporary platforms were erected called Spetacola, Forti, or even Fortuli and referring then to the resemblance to the deck of a ship. Continuing with the analogy, the Romans would call the racing crashes of the chariots an ofralgium or a shipwreck. The course itself was called a circus for the circular seating around the track or the actual procession or races that went around the track. The circus was subsequently called Maximus to distinguish it from Rome's other circuses, the Circus Flaminius, the Tragarium, the Circus of Nero, and the Circus Farianus of the Caesaurium Palace. The Circus Maximus underwent many phases, as over time it was flooded out from the Tiber River or burned down in fires. The first permanent structure really came to us only under Julius Caesar and then Augustus's version, still mostly in wood, already was documented as holding 150,000 spectators. The Circus Maximus was spectacularly destroyed in the fire of Nero in 64, suffered further damage and was rebuilt under demission, and the final phase, the most resplendent version of all and the largest, was under Trajan, whose impressive remains we see restored in this model, but it's also what's visible still today in the eastern end, an archaeological site that you can still visit. Now let's take a look at a day at the races. The games began when an elected official threw out a handkerchief known as a mappa. That's the start of the games and these elected officials are depicting themselves in that moment of honor. There are the magistrates located over top the starting blocks and we see it represented as a nice canopied structure giving shade to those elected officials. On the western end of the Circus Maximus, the stalls for the horses and chariots were typically called the carcheres, but because of the towers associated with it, it was also known as Apidum or town because that's what it resembled. There were 12 such stalls divided into groups of six and in between was a triumphal gate for the pompa procession before the races, the charioteers and the horses entered into the Circus Maximus and paraded around. Now a good example of those impressive towers is visible in the Circus of Maccentius on the Via Appia. When we look at the position of the carcheres, we see that they're located in a staggered form on the west end of the track so that when the doors open, the chariots traveled along a chalked lane to a point of convergence, the albalinia, a sort of a break line. And thereafter, there were no lanes and it was a free-for-all for seven laps around the track. Now, how did the gates open all at the same time? There was a pulley mechanism system anchored to a series of herm statues and we can see them beautifully preserved on this relief from Foligno. Now, when we consider those seven laps, let's consider the size of the track, 540 x 80 meters and the overall structure of the Circus Maximus, 640 meters by about 140 meters. So you had a massive amount of seating. We talked about the number of 150,000 spectators, that's a conservative estimate. The usual number of chariots that started each race was a four-horse chariot or quadriga and the person that was the driver was the origa. And these were typically freedmen or slaves that could become fabulously wealthy, supported by fanatical fans as they risked it all. When there was a day of races, it was typically 10 to 12 a day until the time of the emperors. From Caligula and onward, it was 24 races a day as a standard and on one occasion, the Emperor Domitian held 100 races in a single day. Crashes would involve many chariots and famously the deaths of some of the greatest strivers of ancient Rome. What do the chariots wear? Leather helmets and some protective wrappings around their bodies. But actually, it wasn't much of a protection and when we look at them on their little chariots, we see that they're essentially tied to the horses and if they ever fell off, they cut themselves away with a knife that was strapped to their chest. So it really was one of the most dangerous events in ancient Rome to witness. The fans were divided into four factions, each one distinguished by a color, representing the four seasons of the year. The factio prasina, green for spring. The factio rusata, red for summer. The factio veneta, blue for autumn. And factio alba, white for winter. When we look at the depictions of the races in the Circus Maximus, we don't just see the charioteers, we see other protagonists. And to the standout are the hortotores or dizultores that are riding on horseback. They are members of each of the chariot teams and they could during the race encourage or even assist the movement of the chariot of their team. The other figure that we frequently see on foot is the sparsores, who is a person with a bowl and sprinkles the water from that bowl to keep down the dust on the track. All of that racing took place around a central structure called the Euripus or the Spina. And it became lined with incredible monuments. Let's take a look. Charioteers raced around the track. They raced around a structure known as the Spina and I am walking along it right now. And we know from mosaics and Roman reliefs that the Spina was chalk filled with all kinds of monuments, two obelisks, statues of gods, the metiah, the turning post on either end and so much more. Of course, you're going to be able to see the counters, both eggs and dolphins that are lining the Spina. So this is one of the most important monuments within the entire structure of the Circus Maximus. And just imagine right here in antiquity I could stand as a privileged spectator, witnessing those chariots racing around and of course the thunder of the applause of 150,000 spectators. There was nothing like it in the entire ancient world. At the far ends of the Spina are the metai, each composed of three canonical wooden cylinders in imitation of cypress trees. They marked the turns where crashes were imminent. In the center of the Spina was the obelisk brought to Rome by Augustus after the conquest of Egypt. It fell down in the Middle Ages and was re-erected in Piazzedo Popolo in the 16th century. A second obelisk was added by Constantius II and 357. It was re-erected in front of St. John Lateran by 6th to 5th in 1588. There were still other features on the Spina, large-scale statuary like that of Chibele Magna Mater on a lion and other statuary atop columns. The laps were traditionally counted by seven eggs posted on the Spina and in reference to the fact that Castor and Pollux, patron gods of horsemen, were born from eggs via their mother Lita. Agrippa, after his famous naval battles won on behalf of Augustus, added on the Spina seven dolphins acting as new lap counters. Drones were known for their speed, connection to Neptune who was also the patron of horses and of course also referred to Agrippa's own naval victories. The Temple of Consus of Romulus was also embedded in the Spina and was nearby the Shrine of Mercia. Beyond the Spina was the Arch of Titus, poorly preserved today in the archaeological park but marvelously preserved and presented on the relief from Filinio. The finish line purposely lined up with the pulvenar, a covered hall where the Emperor sat on the Palatine hillside opposite the Temple of Soul on the Aventine. The gods were ever present in the circus and so was the Emperor. In the end, the charioteer's fame rivaled that of the gladiators and the reward for the charioteer was the victor's palm and cash prizes. Dioclese, a charioteer from Portugal, ancient Lusitania, had competed in the time of Hadrian Antonius Pius and he won over 35 million Cisterces before retiring at the age of 42. In his inscription records that he won 1,462 times in over 4,257 races but not everyone lived to retirement. The poet Marshall recorded that the Audegate Scorpus who had over 2,000 victories died while racing at the age of 26. The city mourned the loss of Scorpus, lining the city with gilded busts of the fallen charioteer. There's so much more to discover in the Circus Maximus, animal hunts and triumphal parades. Join us for more discoveries and insights on the ancient world on Ancient Rome Live and you can learn more about the charioteers, their housing and stables in the campus marshes by checking out the mystery of the 4th century Domus on the YouTube channel at Darius Aria. We'll see you in Rome.