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Circus Mosaic from Lugdunum
The restored Circus Mosaic from Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France), 2nd century CE. It vividly depicts a chariot race with eight chariots competing, two from each faction. The four teams, known by the colours worn by the charioteers (blue, green, red, and white), represent several successive moments of the race. The spina, the median strip around which the chariots turn, consists of two rectangular pools filled with water and lap markers with seven dolphins and seven eggs. When each lap had been run, a dolphin was tipped downward, and an egg lowered from its bar.
Lugdunum Museum, Lyon.
Bibliography
- Meijer, Fik & Waters, Liz. Chariot Racing in the Roman Empire. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010.
Questions & Answers
Where were chariot races held?
- Chariot races were held in massive purpose-built structures called hippodromes or circuses, with posts marking the turning points. In Rome, chariot races took place in the Circus Maximus, a huge, oval-shaped stadium that could seat nearly 250,000 spectators.
What did a Roman chariot look like?
- The Roman chariot was a two-wheeled cart made of wood that was pulled by teams of two to four horses. It was designed with small and light wheels to help stabilize it as it took sharp turns.
What did Roman charioteers wear?
- The charioteers wore protective clothing of thick leather helmets and thick tunics with horizontal leather padded bands around their chests and trunks, and also around their thighs.
Who was the best chariot racer in antiquity?
- The racers who were incredibly successful could become millionaires. One of the most famous charioteers was a man named Gaius Appuleius Diocles, who, in the 2nd century CE, won a total of 1,463 races of his 4,257 races and finished second 861 times.
License & Copyright
This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Carole Raddato. Uploaded by Carole Raddato, published on 27 May 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
