\ "' VOL. XXXV. NOTRE DAME, INDIANA, JANUARY II, 1902. No. 15. extended along either side and formed a Bernini's Pieta. semicircle at the southeast end. The other was closed by a row of carceres or, stables in which the chariots were kept before the FRANCIS C. SCHWAB, '02. races. These carceres vf&xe. built about 329 B.C. The whole structure gradually increased in '\^HITE marble, glistening in the ruddy glow size and magnificence, and after the great Of a taper-lamp that flickers fitfully. improvements made by Julius Csesar, the The shadows o'er thee bring back Calvary Circus Maximus had become one of the most And make the heart beat in the deepest woe: wonderful works of Rome. A Man with head on Woman's knee lies low, All stiff and lank, to death's supremacy Dionysius of Halicarnassus was the first to While she with hand upraised in agony, give us a description of the circus. The' -Resigns with faith to what she can not»know. lower tiers of. seats were of stone, the upper ones of wood. They were supported by three No quaking earth to fill the heart with fear; rows of arches under which was a line of No dripping blood to horrify the soul; booths and shops. The first row of seats, the No God to bitter pain and hate consigned podium, raised twelve feet above the course, To claim our pity at a sight so drear. was protected by a rail. To make it still No outward thing to add unto the dole— more secure in the case of animalfights, Julius The naked Fact now sinks into the mind. Cresar had a ditch eleven feet deep dug just inside the wall. During the empire the podium was reserved for senators and" the next The Circus Maximus and Chariot Baces. tiers for the knights; the third class occupied the remainder. The women, who had a section ALBERT L. KRUG, I9O2. for themselves at the theatres, here mingled with- the men. N' the long, narrow valley The divisions were marked by railings and between the Aventine and were cut into wedge-shaped sections by Palatine, extending from steps running from top to bottom. Often the northwest to southeast, lay emperor or presiding magistrate reserved a the Roman race-course o^ whole section for his friends or even for" the Circus. Maximus. The strangers. Sixty-four doorways led'into the work was begun by Tarquinius Priscus who structure. The spectators reached them_ drained the marshy ground and then had it through broad galleries. So well arranged made level. He assigned a part of this space were they that there was never a crush in to each of the thirty C2m'is in which to hold leaving the circus. The seats were wide their theatrical performances and games. As enough to allow a man to pass without brush­ the theatres of that period were put up only ing against those who were seated, and a temporarily, no -provisions for a permanent groove ran along each row to lead off the structure were made. The first permanent water in case of a sudden rain-storm. building probably dates back to the second The main entrance to the arena was at the Tarquin. The arena proper was about one northwest end.. The gateway passed between thousand nine hundred feet long and four two large buildings, each containing two hundred wide. The Aventine and Palatine ^:^z/r^r(?.y. These buildings also contained the ~ J* > --'-,: 274.- NOTRE DAME SCHOLAS'IIC, cages of wild beasts and the dwellings of their as among the Greeks. They wore short, keepers. Moreover, the loges of the emperor sleeveless tunics gathered at the waist by and presiding magistrate were situated at the a belt. The reins were fastened about their top. Up to the time- of Claudius, the carceres bodies, to enable them to get a more secure were made of volcanic sandstone. That hold. Each man carried a. knife with which ii emperor had marble ones erected in their to cut the traces, should the horses become stead. Opposite the main gate was the Porta unruly. A leather helmet that covered fore­ Triimiphalis by which the victorious charioteer head and cheeks served as some protection left the circus. in case of a fall. For the. same reason arms ft Down the middle of the course ran a spina. and legs frequently had a like covering. with Victor or turning posts at each end. Each The tunics, as well as the chariots and harness, one consisted of three conical columns placed bore the owner's colours. close together on a stone foundation. At Though the sympathy for a charioteer and first they were made of wood, but Claudius his team was great the interest manifested replaced them by others of bronze. The during the republic rested chiefly on the spina itself, a wall twelve feet wide and four party-spirit that sprang up soon after the high, was surmounted by statues and columns. introduction of the races. Even during the Augustus erected on it an obelisk which is republic there were two factions, the red and now in the Piazza del Popolo, and Constantine the white, so called because the drivers wore added another now near the Lateran. A red or white tunics. TVL'O more, the blue and platform, containing seven egg-shaped bodies the green came in £.t the beginning of the or ova was situated on the middle of the spina. empire. The red and-the white disappeared Each race consisted of seven laps, and at the soon after, and in later years we hear only completion of each lap one of these bodies of the green and the blue factions. was removed. This enabled the spectators to The chief support of these parties were see how much of the race had been run. the companies that undertook to furnish the During the republic, there was no wall supplies for the games. As the magistrates in between the turning-posts, but the spina was charge of the.sports never had enough horses marked by a row of statues and pillars. and men of their own, rich capitalists, of the The chief events that took place in the knightly rank provided all that was necessary. circus were the chariot-races. The chariots They kept large stock-farms and numerous were small and I'ght, and v;hen drawn by slaves who were trained as drivers. Free men, two horses were known as a biga, when with however, were also employed. Each faction four a quadi-iga. A team of three appeared had its o.wn training-quarters, .v/V?<^«/«7«, where very seldom,, but- experts sometimes, drove horses and chariots were kept and where teams of from six to ten horses. In the case trainers and charioteers lived: At the head oi di Inga both animals were under a yoke. was the qutzstdr factionis. He kept an account In a quadriga, however, the two on the outside of the money taken in or paid out and divided ran in traces. The horse on the left was the gains among the,owners or doniinifactionis. usually the best, for on it rested most of In addition to trainers, drivers, veterinary the strain of the-short turns. These horses surgeons and stable-boys, there were"-.many were gathered from all quarters by experts mechanics, tailors and engravers, who made -who. took into consideration pedigree, ?.ge chariots and trappings.. and build. The five-year olds were deemed After the formation of these companies it the best: The price scarcely ever fell below -became the fashion to wear one or other of fifteen, hundred dollars, and yet, according the representative! colours. Everyone, from to Vano,-there were at his-time four hundred the highest to the lowest, the emperor not thousand of these animals in Rome. excluded, worked himself to so intense an . In the earlier daj-s, the citizens themselves excitement over a mere colour that tumults drove; in the races. In later years, however, often a.rose. This spirit, which out-lived even they-,refused to appear for the amusement the Western Empire, was:still stronger in Con­ of the people, and?the office passed to the stantinople. .Here it had assunied more of a lower .classes especially slaves and- freed-men. political and religious colouring. During the As,in the case of the teams, skilful drivers reign of Justiniarii one riot after a race lasted were brought from alL(juarters. The charior three days. _ •.--"-.'' : ' teersstpod in the chariots, but not unclothed Let us return to Rome and witness a race NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC. 235 during the early days of the empire. The musicians, enter the main gate. Behind them games have been announced long- before, and comes the magistrate in charge of the games. the names of horses and drivers have been According to custom, he has all the insignia given out. On the streets, in the houses, even of a triumphant general. Clothed in the tunica at the schools, one hears of nothing but the palmata and purple toga and bearing an ivory races. Some people go to soothsayers to find sceptre, he stands in a triumphal chariot. A out which colour "will win. At the training slave holds a golden crown over his head and- quarters all is excitement. New horses and a group of clients in white togas follow- him. drivers are trained carefully, and the owners Behind the magistrate come the statues. of appear frequently to note the progress.