Chariot racing was Rome's oldest and
most popular pastime, dating back to at least the Roman monarchy.
Greek chariot races were held in hippodromes in the east, but in the west they were held in circuses. Other events eventually infiltrated the circus games (ludi circenses), such as Greek athletics and wrestling, but chariot racing remained the popular favorite. As a sport, it was highly expensive, but organized into a highly profitable business. There were four chariot facing factions, the blues, greens, whites, and reds, the colors of which were worn by respective charioteers during races. If successful, a charioteer could become rich and famous throughout Rome. Images of charioteers survive in sculpture, mosaic, and molded glassware, sometimes even with inscribed names. The factions rivaled greatly, sometimes leading to violence among supporters. In general, however, the greens and blues were the favorites.
The circus itself consisted of tiers of
seats build around a U-shaped arena with an elaborately ornamented barrier, the spina,
running down the middle. Metae, or turning posts, adorned each end of the
course. At the open end of the U waited up to twelve four horse chariots (quadrigae),
which began the race from starting gates (carceres), drove to the
right of the
spina, and then continued counter-clockwise for seven laps. At each end of the spina
were seven lap markers, one of which was removed after each lap run by the charioteers.
Circuses were also used for two horse chariot racing (bigae), and by the
late republic other events, such as foot and horse racing, athletics, and gladiatorial
shows/mock battles were commonplace in the circus.
The 1st circus was the Circus Maximus, supposedly built during the monarchy. Later circuses were often confused with Greek stadia, which were later adapted to the Roman world by their own right, but were only approximately one-half the size of the typical circus (180-200 meters in length, 30 meters wide, with only two turning posts and no spina). Circuses remained common in the west and stadia common in the Hellenistic east in the tradition of the Greek games.