CHARIOT RACING

Chariot racing was one of the few sports women were permitted to watch. Up to 150,000 people would pack the long, narrow Circus Maximus on Palatine Hill as teams of charioteers risked life and limb completing seven anti-clockwise laps. Chariots would typically be pulled by four horses but in some races more were used. A typical race would feature 12 chariots and fatal accidents were commonplace as the riders jostled for position. Crashed chariots were referred to as ’naufragia’, which translates as ‘shipwrecks’.