Circus Maximus, Rome
THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS. The Largest sports entertainment venue of all time, the Circus Maximus was a monumental facility that could hold hundreds of thousands of spectators. It covered most of the broad valley that stretched for over 600 metres between the Palatine and Aventine hills, an area that had been used for events connected with religious festivals since Archaic times. Tradition held that Romulus had established the earliest horse races (the Consualia) to honour the god Consus, while the Tarquins, the last kings of Rome, were the first to provide seating, in the form of tiers of wooden benches.
During the Republic, the valley gradually saw the addition of other structures and equipment, some permanent, and became the largest public space in the City where chariot races could be held, along with religious processions and triumphs, hunts involving exotic wild animals, stage performances and public executions as well. In 329 BC wooden starting stalls (carceres) for the chariots were constructed. In 170 BC
the censors restored the metal - the conical pillars that served as turning posts - in the centre of the track and installed a device for counting the laps (the ova) as well as a variety of other equipment relating to the competitions. Over time, this central area called the spina or euripus, would evolve into a long, rectilinear medium strip topped by altars, statues and basins, as well as two magnificent obelisks that Augustus and late Constantius II had shipped from Egypt. The first brick building would be erected by Julius Caesar traces of opus reticulatum brickwork are still visible today., incorporated into later constructions. In the early years of the imperial period the Circus Maximus would undergo further, ambitious restoring efforts, but also be damaged in a number of fires. At the end of the first century AD, it was completely rebuilt by Trajan and inaugurated with a series of spectacular games in 103 AD.
The dimensions of the imperial age Circus Maximus were astonishing. It was roughly 600m long and 140m wide with the two long sides joined at one end by a hemicycle topped off by a large triumphal arch dedicated to Titus. The capacity of the stadium was said by contemporaries to be approximately 250,000 people. The facade of the lower level consisted of arcades, while that of the two upper levels had windows. Part of the building was below ground, with the race track itself and some of the lower tiers of seats actually lower that street level.
In the second and third centuries AD the stadium was reinforced with brick constructions to bolster the facade, while being further enlarged and adomed. The last games held in the Circus Maximus date back to the early decades of the sixth century following which the majestic race track from antiquity would remain largely razed and stripped of its contents with the enormous field used for agricultural purposes.
Circus Maximus, Rome
THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS. The Largest sports entertainment venue of all time, the Circus Maximus was a monumental facility that could hold hundreds of thousands of spectators. It covered most of the broad valley that stretched for over 600 metres between the Palatine and Aventine hills, an area that had been used for events connected with religious festivals since Archaic times. Tradition held that Romulus had established the earliest horse races (the Consualia) to honour the god Consus, while the Tarquins, the last kings of Rome, were the first to provide seating, in the form of tiers of wooden benches.
During the Republic, the valley gradually saw the addition of other structures and equipment, some permanent, and became the largest public space in the City where chariot races could be held, along with religious processions and triumphs, hunts involving exotic wild animals, stage performances and public executions as well. In 329 BC wooden starting stalls (carceres) for the chariots were constructed. In 170 BC
the censors restored the metal - the conical pillars that served as turning posts - in the centre of the track and installed a device for counting the laps (the ova) as well as a variety of other equipment relating to the competitions. Over time, this central area called the spina or euripus, would evolve into a long, rectilinear medium strip topped by altars, statues and basins, as well as two magnificent obelisks that Augustus and late Constantius II had shipped from Egypt. The first brick building would be erected by Julius Caesar traces of opus reticulatum brickwork are still visible today., incorporated into later constructions. In the early years of the imperial period the Circus Maximus would undergo further, ambitious restoring efforts, but also be damaged in a number of fires. At the end of the first century AD, it was completely rebuilt by Trajan and inaugurated with a series of spectacular games in 103 AD.
The dimensions of the imperial age Circus Maximus were astonishing. It was roughly 600m long and 140m wide with the two long sides joined at one end by a hemicycle topped off by a large triumphal arch dedicated to Titus. The capacity of the stadium was said by contemporaries to be approximately 250,000 people. The facade of the lower level consisted of arcades, while that of the two upper levels had windows. Part of the building was below ground, with the race track itself and some of the lower tiers of seats actually lower that street level.
In the second and third centuries AD the stadium was reinforced with brick constructions to bolster the facade, while being further enlarged and adomed. The last games held in the Circus Maximus date back to the early decades of the sixth century following which the majestic race track from antiquity would remain largely razed and stripped of its contents with the enormous field used for agricultural purposes.