See also
- List of Roman circuses
- Hippodrome – a Greek arena also used for chariot racing
The Circus of Antioch was a hippodrome in Antioch, in present-day Turkey. Used for chariot racing, it was modelled on the Circus Maximus in Rome and other circus buildings throughout the Roman Empire.
The Circus, measuring more than 490 m in length and 30 m of width, [1] was similar to the Hippodrome of Berytus.
The circus could house up to 80,000 spectators.
There is no consensus about the circus' dating, as it was built and used for several years before its official dedication. It seems to have been built sometime around 50 BCE.
By the late seventh century CE, it had become decrepit and was replaced by a new arena located nearby (less than 1/5 of a mile to the north); the new arena was called “Hippodrome B” or the “Palestra.” [2]
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width and could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.
An amphitheatre or amphitheater is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ἀμφιθέατρον, from ἀμφί, meaning "on both sides" or "around" and θέατρον, meaning "place for viewing".
In ancient Greek a hippodromos or hippodrome was a stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words hippos and dromos.
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from a very early time. With the institution of formal races and permanent racetracks, chariot racing was adopted by many Greek states and their religious festivals. Horses and chariots were very costly. Their ownership was a preserve of the wealthiest aristocrats, whose reputations and status benefitted from offering such extravagant, exciting displays. Their successes could be further broadcast and celebrated through commissioned odes and other poetry.
Sultanahmet Square or the Hippodrome of Constantinople is a square in Istanbul, Turkey. Previously, it was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "built", or sectioned off, by Gaius Flaminius in 221 BC. After Augustus divided the city into 14 administrative regions, the Circus Flaminius gave its name to Regio IX, which encompassed the Circus and all of the Campus Martius west of the Via Lata.
A Roman circus was a large open-air venue normally used for chariot races and horse races, although sometimes served other purposes. It was similar to the ancient Greek hippodrome. Along with theatres and amphitheatres, circuses were one of the main entertainment venues the time.
The Circus of Maxentius is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, part of a complex of buildings erected by emperor Maxentius on the Via Appia between AD 306 and 312. It is situated between the second and third miles of the Via Appia, between the basilica and catacombs of San Sebastiano and the imposing late republican tomb of Caecilia Metella, which dominates the hill that rises immediately to the east of the complex. It is part of the Appian Way Regional Park.
The Roman circus of Mérida is a ruined Roman circus in Mérida, Spain. Used for chariot racing, it was modelled on the Circus Maximus in Rome and other circus buildings throughout the Empire. Measuring more than 400 m in length and 30 m of width, it is one of the best preserved examples of Roman circus. It could house up to 30,000 spectators.
The Walled Obelisk or Masonry Obelisk is a Roman monument in the form of an obelisk in the former Hippodrome of Constantinople, now Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated west of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, at the southern end of the ancient chariot-racing track of Constantinople's central barrier, beside the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Serpentine Column. Its original construction date in late antiquity is unknown, but it is sometimes named Constantine's Obelisk after the inscription added by the Roman emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, who repaired it in the 10th century.
In Greek mythology, the Taraxippus was a presence, variously identified as a ghost or dangerous site, blamed for frightening horses at hippodromes throughout Greece. Some taraxippoi were associated with the Greek hero cults or with Poseidon in his aspect as a god of horses who brought about the death of Hippolytus. Pausanias, the ancient source offering the greatest number of explanations, regards it as an epithet rather than a single entity.
Porphyrius the Charioteer, also named as Porphyrius Calliopas was a celebrity Byzantine-Roman charioteer in the late 5th and early 6th centuries of Imperial Rome's Christian era, during what Alan Cameron describes as the "Golden Age of the Charioteer". Christianisation of the Roman empire had been accompanied by the abandonment of traditional Roman and Greek religious festivals and the banning of gladiator shows and other arena blood-sports; venationes were banned in 498. Chariot racing and certain forms of what Cameron describes as Imperial ritual, theatrical dance or "pantomime" replaced most imperially funded public entertainments. In 502, the theatrical or pantomime component was banned as unruly, leaving only such Imperial ritual as belonged to the chariot races, in particular the salutation of the emperor and victor.
Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, venationes and executions. About 230 Roman amphitheatres have been found across the area of the Roman Empire. Early amphitheatres date from the Republican period, though they became more monumental during the Imperial era.
The Trigarium was an equestrian training ground in the northwest corner of the Campus Martius in ancient Rome. Its name was taken from the triga, a three-horse chariot.
The biga is the two-horse chariot as used in ancient Rome for sport, transportation, and ceremonies. Other animals may replace horses in art and occasionally for actual ceremonies. The term biga is also used by modern scholars for the similar chariots of other Indo-European cultures, particularly the two-horse chariot of the ancient Greeks and Celts. The driver of a biga is a bigarius.
The Circus of Carthage is a Roman circus in Carthage, in present-day Tunisia. Used for chariot racing, it was modeled on the Circus Maximus in Rome and other circus buildings throughout the Roman Empire. Measuring more than 470 m in length and 30 m in width, it could house up to 45,000 spectators, roughly one third of the Circus Maximus.
The hippodrome of Berytus was a circus in the Roman colony of Berytus. It is one of two hippodromes in Beirut.
The Tyre Hippodrome is a UNESCO World Heritage site of the city of Tyre in south Lebanon dating back to the Second century CE The Expositio, a description of the world written in the second half of the fourth century by an unknown writer about circuses in the Roman empire, names the Tyre Hippodrome as one of the five best racecourses in the Levant.
The Roman circus of Toledo is an Ancient Roman circus site of Hispania. It served the city of Toletum, the present-day Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
The Lageion also known as the Hippodrome of Alexandria, was a hippodrome situated in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, below the Serapeum. It is named after the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter. Other sources cite that it was named after a figure called Lagos, who was believed to be the father of Ptolemy I.
Coordinates: 36°13′36″N36°10′18″E / 36.226691°N 36.171743°E
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