Circus Maximus
The valley between Rome's Aventine and Palatine hills once held rich agricultural land prone to flooding from the river Tiber. In the Regal era, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus built raised wooden perimeter seating for Rome's highest echelons. His grandson, Tarquinius Superbus, added the first seating for citizen-commoners on the Aventine side of the track. The earliest races occurred within an agricultural landscape featuring nothing more than turning posts and banks where spectators could sit. An open drainage canal likely served as a dividing barrier between the conical stone pillars known as metae. Sloping ground afforded the possibility of turf seating tiers at an early date before later sponsors replaced them with wood.
Ludi were public games connected to Roman religious festivals sponsored by leading Romans or the state for the benefit of the populus Romanus. Most events were held annually or at annual intervals on the Roman calendar while others fulfilled religious vows like triumphs. A flamboyant parade called pompa circensis marked the purpose of the games and introduced participants during the greater ludi. Julius Caesar solidified his support through lavish ludi as aedile despite sometimes crippling personal costs. In 167 BC flute players scenic artists and dancers performed on a temporary stage erected between two central seating banks. A venatio held in 169 BC employed 63 leopards and 40 bears and elephants with spectators kept safe by substantial barriers.
Augustus rebuilt Ceres' temple above the starting gates which was probably damaged in the fire of 31 BC. He brought an obelisk from Heliopolis at enormous expense and erected it midway along the dividing barrier of the Circus. The pulvinar was built on monumental scale as a shrine raised high above the trackside seats where Augustus watched alongside gods. Claudius made improvements including stone-built or marble-clad starting stalls and rebuilt turning posts after flooding issues persisted. Trajan decided to rebuild the Circus entirely in stone providing a new pulvinar where Rome's emperor could be seen and honoured. Pliny claims that Trajan's works gained a further 5,000 seats while Caracalla oversaw extensive planned rebuilding of the starting gate area.
The southeastern turn of the track ran between shrines dedicated to Murcia and Consus which may have predated the Circus formal development. Romulus discovered the underground shrine to Consus shortly after founding Rome and invented the Consualia festival to gather Sabine neighbours. During these distractions Romulus's men abducted the Sabine daughters as brides setting the famous myth of the Rape of the Sabine women within the Circus. Castor and Pollux were patrons of horses horsemen and the equestrian order born from eggs symbolizing race-laps. Sun-god Apollo served as divine patron of the Circus with his sacred obelisk towering over the arena close to the finishing line. Luna drove her two-horse chariot representing predictable orderly movement of the cosmos and circuit of time.
Ancient sources attest that the Circus Maximus occasionally hosted public spectacles including executions during the Roman Imperial period. One such punishment was damnatio ad bestias where condemned individuals were exposed to wild animals as capital punishment. Victims typically included convicted criminals prisoners of war enslaved people and groups perceived by authorities as threatening public order. Early Christians are among those described in ancient literary sources as having suffered this punishment particularly during episodic persecutions in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Some accounts connect executions involving animals with the reign of Nero following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE. Modern scholarship notes many narratives describing Christian martyrdom were written by later authors with apologetic or theological aims.
After the 6th century the Circus fell into disuse and decay while lower levels were gradually buried under waterlogged alluvial soil. The original track now lies six meters beneath the modern surface due to accumulated debris and flooding. In the 11th century dwellings rented out by the congregation of Saint-Guy replaced the ancient stadium. By the 16th century the area served as a market garden before Renaissance times turned it into a convenient quarry for building stone. Two obelisks were removed from the central barrier by Pope Sixtus V in 1587 with one re-sited at the Piazza del Popolo. Mid-19th century workings uncovered seating tiers and outer porticoes while excavations have since exposed further sections despite limited exploration due to scale and depth.
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Common questions
Who built the first seating at the Circus Maximus?
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus built raised wooden perimeter seating for Rome's highest echelons during the Regal era. His grandson Tarquinius Superbus added the first seating for citizen-commoners on the Aventine side of the track.
When did Augustus rebuild the starting gates and add an obelisk to the Circus Maximus?
Augustus rebuilt Ceres' temple above the starting gates after it was probably damaged in the fire of 31 BC. He brought an obelisk from Heliopolis and erected it midway along the dividing barrier of the Circus at that time.
What happened to Christians at the Circus Maximus during the Roman Imperial period?
Early Christians suffered damnatio ad bestias where condemned individuals were exposed to wild animals as capital punishment. Some accounts connect these executions involving animals with the reign of Nero following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE.
How deep is the original track of the Circus Maximus beneath modern Rome today?
The original track now lies six meters beneath the modern surface due to accumulated debris and flooding. After the 6th century the stadium fell into disuse while lower levels were gradually buried under waterlogged alluvial soil.
Which gods served as patrons of the Circus Maximus according to ancient sources?
Sun-god Apollo served as divine patron of the Circus with his sacred obelisk towering over the arena close to the finishing line. Castor and Pollux were patrons of horses horsemen and the equestrian order born from eggs symbolizing race-laps.
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30 references cited across the entry
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