Chariot Racing: Did you mean...?

Chariot racing was very big business in ancient Rome. There was a whole industry built around the factions, the four professional stables known by their team colour – Blue, Green, Red, and White –, providing all that was required for a race...

Roman mosaic depicting a quadriga of the factio russata (‘the Reds,’ representing the summer), 3rd century CE, from Rome. National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid.

The chariot was a light vehicle, usually on two wheels, drawn by one or more horses, often carrying two standing persons, a driver and a fighter using bow-and-arrow or javelins. The chariot was the supreme military weapon in Eurasia roughly...

Fragment of a mosaic with a circus scene and a quadriga (chariot led by a four-horse team) racing vigorously, found in Paradas, dated to the 4th century CE. Museum of Archaeology, Seville.

An 1872 oil on canvas painting, Horse Racing, by Edouard Manet (1832-83), the French modernist painter. The was a work commissioned by a racing enthusiast. Manet was a frequent race-goer himself, particularly the races held at the Bois de...

If there was one thing the Roman people loved it was spectacle and the opportunity of escapism offered by weird and wonderful public shows which assaulted the senses and ratcheted up the emotions. Roman rulers knew this well and so to increase...

The chariot was the elite arm of ancient Indian armies in the Vedic (1500 BCE – 1000 BCE) and Epic periods (described by the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, 1000-600 BCE) because of the advantages it conferred and the selection of plain ground...

Cynisca of Sparta (b. c. 440 BCE) was a Spartan royal princess who became the first female Olympic champion. Defying the traditional role of women in ancient Greece, she competed in the Olympic Games alongside the men and won. Her triumph...

This gallery features images of Greek and Roman chariot racers. Chariot racing was the most popular spectator sport in ancient times. In Greece, chariot racing was important in aristocratic funeral games from an early period. As formal races...

Roman wall painting depicting a chariot race, from Pompeii, Casa delle Quadrighe (House of the Chariot Race), dated to 68-79 CE. Naples Archaeological Museum.