Roman Circuses
A modern model of what the
Circus Maximus in Rome would have looked like.
Chariot-racing was okay with the Christians, and so people kept on going to the races long after the gladiatorial games had been stopped. In the later Roman empire, in Constantinople, the charioteers formed teams that were known by their colors (Red, White, Green, and Blue). People rooted for their team, and often got into fights with the other teams. Sometimes the teams even supported political candidates, or led riots against the Emperor!
This is what the Circus Maximus looks like today.
Can you see where the people sat, on the sides?
To find out more about Roman circuses and chariot-racing, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Spend the Day in Ancient Rome: Projects and Activities that Bring the Past to Life, Ages 8-12 by Linda Honan (1998). Chapter 10 is all about the circus. For kids.
Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire, edited by David Potter and David Mattingly (1999). Good solid information from specialists, written for college students.
Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing, by John H. Humphrey (1986). Everything you could ever want to know about the racetracks, the seats, the starting gates, and the signals, based on archaeology. By an experienced excavation director, for specialists.
Circus Factions: Blues and Greens at Rome and Byzantium, by Alan Cameron (1993). About the Byzantine political teams, by an expert.
Roman gladiators
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