Chariot racing
A modern recreation of chariot racing in Puy
du Fou
Chariot racing (Greek: ἁρματοδρομία/arm-
atodromia, Latin: ludi circenses) was one of
the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and
Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often
dangerous to both driver and horse—they fre-
quently suffered serious injury and even
death—but generated strong spectator enthu-
siasm. In the ancient Olympic Games, as well
as the other Panhellenic Games, the sport
was one of the most important equestrian
events.
In the Roman form of chariot racing,
teams represented different groups of finan-
cial backers and sometimes competed for the
services of particularly skilled drivers. These
teams became the focus of intense support
among spectators, and occasional disturb-
ances broke out between followers of differ-
ent factions. The conflicts sometimes became
politicized, as the sport began to transcend
the races themselves and started to affect so-
ciety overall. This helps explain why Roman
and later Byzantine emperors took control of
the teams and appointed many officials to
oversee them.
The sport faded in importance after the
fall of Rome in the West, surviving only for a
time in the Byzantine Empire, where the tra-
ditional Roman factions continued to play a
prominent role for some time, gaining influ-
ence in political matters. Their rivalry cul-
minated in the Nika riots, which marked the
gradual decline of the sport.
Ancient Greece
Early chariot racing
It is unknown exactly when chariot racing
began, but it may have been as old as chari-
ots themselves. It is known from artistic evid-
ence on pottery that the sport existed in the
Mycenaean world,[1] but the first literary ref-
erence to a chariot race is the one described
by Homer, at the funeral games of Patro-
clus.[2] The participants in this race were
Diomedes, Eumelus, Antilochus, Menelaus,
and Meriones. The race, which was one lap
around the stump of a tree, was won by
Diomedes, who received a slave woman and a
cauldron as his prize. A chariot race was also
said to be