Chariot racing and the city of Rome are synonymous to each other. The origin of chariot racing has been substantially established in the City of Rome, where the Circus Maximus or the ‘Biggest Circus’ was where these races were held. Both the architectural wonder of the Circus Maximus and the magnificence of the chariot races complemented each other with sheer opulence. These games marked their presence in most of the important Greek religious festivals and days.
The thrill that the chariot races brought made this event one that would entertain all the people of Rome, who enjoyed these races thoroughly. The Circus Maximus, which could accommodate around 200,000 people at a time – and that doesn’t at all mean that the Circus Maximus would be thronged by exactly 200,000 people a during the races. Race time meant an overfull Circus Maximus, filled with an enthusiastic crowd cheering for their favorite racing teams.
The racing teams were color coded – red, blue, yellow and green. The teams, or ‘factions’ as they were known, were followed by fans mostly by their team color, which masked their love for their favorite horse or driver.
What made these chariot races more intriguing, thrilling and dangerous was the fact that the charioteer- who were gutsy men, has chariots that were fragile. So fragile that a single collision in the fast-paced race would often lead to the chariot to come crashing down, often trapping the driver who would be dragged along the race arena by the charged horses. And would leave the rider with multiple injuries, or sometimes even death.
Every team had a specific number of chariots, who would flaunt their team color in all its glory. Most of the times, each team had four chariots each, with each chariot being led by four horse. The number of horses would very rarely be increased to six – but this would be once in a blue moon. To complete the race, the riders had to take seven complete laps of the racing arena. Whichever team reaches first, would be declared the winner.
The factions indeed had a hardcore fan following, so much so that in one instance, when a charioteer was arrested on a valid charge – his fan followers went ahead on lynching the general who had filed the case. This went on to the extent that the Emperor had to finally intervene, sending his troops to tackle the insane fans. The clash between the troops and supporters lead to the death of 7000 people on that very day. This incident, though very unfortunate, managed to prove the immense love Romans had for horse racing and their favorite riders and factions!
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