Free Republic

To the west of the Temple of Zeus was a modest fifth-century B.C. facility where the Olympian athletes bathed... A 5-foot-deep swimming pool, measuring 79 feet by 52 feet, lay adjacent to the baths; this pool also dates to the fifth century B.C. In the third century B.C. a palaestra was added... a large open-air courtyard enclosed on all four sides by a colonnade, which was surrounded by rooms. The Greek word "palaestra" means "the place of wrestling," so wrestling and other events were probably practiced in the courtyard. In the second century B.C. a large gymnasium was constructed to...

A nailed-shut amulet uncovered in Turkey in the 1930s, written in Jewish Aramaic and newly translated, pleads for help from Balaam's ass at the track A 5th century ‘curse’ tablet written in Jewish Aramaic from Antioch, Turkey, which was recently deciphered by Tel Aviv University doctoral student Rivka Elitzur-Leiman. (Princeton University) When a typical nailed-shut 5th century curse scroll was uncovered by the University of Princeton in a 1930s excavation under the hippodrome in the city of Antioch (now in Turkey), the team of archaeologists didn’t realize what a unique find they had in hand. It would take almost another...

Chariot racing goes back thousands of years and so do attempts to fix the race... Now it turns out that not only did ancient Greeks and Romans exhort the deities to ruin their rivals' beasts: Jews were hexing the horses too and betting on their favorites. The first-ever evidence of Jewish cursing in sports was found in a rolled-up metal tablet that had been located in ancient Antioch by Princeton University researchers in the 1930s – and had been left rolled up until now. The tablet, about 9x6 centimeters in size, dated to about the 5th or 6th century C.E.,...

Archaeologists have uncovered a small - but vital - clue to the use of a chariot in Moray. The piece for a horse harness was found during the latest dig at an Iron Age site at Birnie, near Elgin. Dr Fraser Hunter, of the National Museums of Scotland, said it was further evidence of the high status of its inhabitants. Excavations would have been unlikely at Birnie if not for the discovery of Roman coins 10 years ago. Glass beads that may have been made at Culbin Sands, near Nairn, in the Highlands, a dagger and quern stones for making...

Ultra millionaire sponsorship deals such as those signed by sprinter Usain Bolt, motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi and tennis player Maria Sharapova, are just peanuts compared to the personal fortune amassed by a second century A.D. Roman racer, according to an estimate published in the historical magazine Lapham's Quarterly.According to Peter Struck, associate professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, an illiterate charioteer named Gaius Appuleius Diocles earned “the staggering sum" of 35,863,120 sesterces (ancient Roman coins) in prize money.Recorded in a monumental inscription erected in 146 A.D., the figure eclipses the fortunes of all modern sport stars,...

(ANSA) - Rome, July 15 - The ancients' version of Formula 1 could once again enliven the Italian capital, with a series of high-speed chariot races. The historical society Vadis Al Maximo hopes to stage a major event next year, which would reproduce the thrills and spills of competitive charioteering, beloved of both the Romans and Greeks. ''The event would last three days, starting on October 17, at the same period when the race took place in Roman times,'' explained Vadis Al Maximo head, Franco Calo. ''If possible, we hope to involve charioteers from all over the world''. The initiative...

A Worldwide Push To Bring back chariot Racing THE WALL STREET JOURNAL May 24, 2007 SAO SIMAO, Brazil – On a drowsy May day in the country, tractors and combines were lumbering down dirt roads when, suddenly, a cloud of dust rose up on the horizon. Birds scattered. Rumbling across the green landscape came seven racing chariots, each pulled by four horses. Riding in the chariot decorated with an engraving of Alexander the Great was Luiz Augusto Alves de Oliveira, a 50-year-old sugar-cane farmer who has an epic plan: returning chariot racing to its ancient glory. In this May Day...

JERASH, Jordan (AFP) - The sun bears down and dust swirls as Roman centurions, followed by armour-clad legionnaires and bruised gladiators, tramp out of the ancient hippodrome to the trailing sounds of a military march. [Blocked Ads]In the seats all around, 21st century spectators in modern-day Jordan cheer and applaud the spectacle before them -- a one-hour show held in honour of Julius Caesar, and part of Jordan's newest tourist attraction. Starting mid-July, visitors to Jordan can plunge into the past, reliving in a unique location just north of the capital Amman some of the high moments that made the...

The sun bears down and dust swirls as Roman centurions, followed by armor-clad legionnaires and bruised gladiators, tramp out of the ancient hippodrome to the trailing sounds of a military march. In the seats all around twenty-first century spectators in modern-day Jordan cheer and applaud the spectacle before them - a one-hour show held in honor of Julius Caesar and part of Jordan's newest tourist attraction. Starting mid-July visitors to Jordan can plunge into the past, reliving in a unique location just north of the capital, Amman, some of the high moments that made the Roman Empire. The setting is...

Excavators have discovered a large four-wheel ceremonial chariot at a villa near Pompeii, an ancient city in southern Italy. Excavators found the bronze and tin chariot almost fully intact, with wooden remains and the imprint of ropes, according to an announcement on Saturday from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. "It is an extraordinary discovery for the advancement of our knowledge of the ancient world," said the outgoing director of the park, Massimo Osanna. "At Pompeii vehicles used for transport have been found in the past, such as that of the House of Menander, or the two chariots discovered at Villa...

Roman triumphs, those vast and glorious celebrations that followed Roman military victories, are beloved of Hollywood directors and epic novelists alike. The vision of the conquering hero riding in a chariot car pulled by a quadriga of white horses with his soldiers marching behind, leading a train of captive enemies through cheering throngs of grateful citizens, scattering coins and good will all around while colossal statues and monuments loom overhead and a humble slave whispers in his ear, “remember thou art mortal” — it is an irresistible scene full of vibrant colors and superlative contrasts. For the record, I thoroughly...

On the north coast of Africa lie the ruins of a city that came within a hairbreadth of defeating the might of Rome. Now archaeologists digging at the famous Circus of Carthage have revealed a startlingly advanced system to cool down horses and chariots during races... Key to the discovery of the clever cooling system at the Circus of Carthage, the biggest sporting arena outside Rome, was the detection of water resistant mortar... The discovery was made at the spina, the median strip of the circus, around the ends of which the charioteers would turn during races. The spina would...

Archaeologists have dug up the skeletons of 16 horses and a two-wheeled chariot in a grave dating back to the Roman Empire in north-east Greece, the culture ministry announced today. Half of the horses were buried in pairs, whilst two human skeletons were also discovered in a dig near Lithohori, in the Kavala region. Near to the remains of six of the horses archaeologists found a shield, weapons and various other accessories... diggers found a grave and four tombs covered with a ceramic lid, which contained four bronze coins dating back to the fourth century AD. The chariot, dating from...

Archaeologists in Rome have discovered the foundations of a second triumphal arch of Roman Emperor Titus, which was thought to be lost to history, the Telegraph reports. The arch once stood at the entrance to ancient Rome's chariot-racing stadium, the Circus Maximus. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus was emperor of Rome from 79 to 81 A.D. Even though he responded quickly with aid when Vesuvius erupted barely two months into his reign in 79 and is credited with completing the Colosseum in 80, it is the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and his victory against the Jews...

<p>Hundreds of graffiti messages engraved into stone in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, in modern-day Turkey, have been discovered and deciphered, revealing what life was like there over 1,500 years ago, researchers say.</p> <p>The graffiti touches on many aspects of the city's life, including gladiator combat, chariot racing, religious fighting and sex. The markings date to a time when the Roman and Byzantine empires ruled over the city.</p>

“Bread and circuses,” the poet Juvenal wrote scathingly. “That’s all the common people want.” Food and entertainment. Or to put it another way, basic sustenance and bloodshed, because the most popular entertainments offered by the circuses of Rome were the gladiators and chariot racing, the latter often as deadly as the former. As many as 12 four-horse teams raced one another seven times around the confines of the greatest arenas—the Circus Maximus in Rome was 2,000 feet long, but its track was not more than 150 feet wide—and rules were few, collisions all but inevitable, and hideous injuries to the...

It’s a safe bet that most of you reading these words have been to a professional football game. Many of you—particularly those who live in Philadelphia—have probably witnessed the occasional brawls between the home crowd and those foolish enough to wear an opposing team’s colors. A few of you, I dare say, have been involved in such altercations. But how often have you witnessed football fans actually kill opposition partisans? Well, perhaps I should qualify that by saying American football fans. When was the last time you heard of agitated sports nuts rioting in the streets and burning down half...

A Roman mosaic depicting a mythical chariot race has been fully uncovered in a Berkshire village - and it could be one of Britain's most exciting archaeological discoveries. The 1,600-year-old mosaic, which was found in Boxford in 2017 but only fully uncovered recently, is one of only three of its kind in the world and is 'totally unknown' in Britain, experts said. It depicts a chariot race involving Greek mythological figure Pelops, who is racing to win the hand of love interest Princess Hippodamia. ... The mosaic will now be covered over once more to protect it and to allow...

When the white handkerchief dropped, the Ben Hurs of Colchester would have set off down Circular Road North, past the banked tiers of seats, turning left at Napier Road, their iron tyres gouging a deep rut in the track,and back up past St John's gatehouse towards the water-spouting dolphin marking the end of the first lap. Colchester, it seems, was the Formula One track of Roman Britain, with the only chariot racing circus ever found on the island, and the first found in northern Europe for 20 years... The racetrack is still buried under roads, gardens and old army buildings,...

A ROMAN coin unearthed by a Wrexham metal detecting enthusiast has been confirmed as one of the oldest ever found in Wales. Retired butcher Roy Page, 69, of Coedpoeth, found the detailed 2,000-year-old coin on a farm near St Asaph when he went on a search there with the Mold-based Historical Search Society earlier this year. Roy gave the tiny silver coin, which depicts two horses being driven by a man on a chariot, to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), who have recently confirmed the specific date that it was made. It is believed to have been brought over some...