The Big Circus (Circo Massimo, Circo Massimo) is the largest hippodrome in ancient Rome, located on the left bank of the Tiber River, between the hills Palatine and Aventin, almost in the center of the modern city.
Title
The name Circo Massimo - The Big Circus - comes from the Latin Circus Maximus. One of the meanings of the word Circus is venue, place for equestrian competitions. Horse racing has been taking place for centuries between the hills - historians suggest that it could be a seasonal celebration in honor of Neptune the Horse.
The first competitions were held in Rome in 500 BC, under the king of Tarquinius Priscus (lat. Lucius Tarquinius Priscus). Chariots drawn by four horses - quadrigs - raced from the start in a straight line. When they reached the end of the valley, they turned and at full speed jumped back, trying to come to the finish line first.
In the II century BC the rules changed in connection with the construction in Rome around 146 BC water supply. It was laid along the bottom of the valley, digging a tunnel with a height of 4.5 and a width of 2.5 meters. A hill stretched along the entire arena, which they did not begin to level, but they launched quadrigs in a circle. So the second meaning of the Latin Circus-circle was completely justified, and then the Italian word Circo (circus) appeared - circus. The circus was indeed "massive" - large, the size of a whole valley, 150 meters wide and more than six hundred long.
Description
Descriptions of the circus at different periods of development are different. At first, spectators who wanted to see the equestrian competitions were placed right on the hillsides. Gradually, the first buildings appeared: benches for the most respected and wealthy citizens, a wooden start and stalls for horses.
During its heyday, which fell on the reign of the first Roman emperors, the Circus Maximus was one of the most impressive buildings in Rome. Guy Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC rebuilt it, expanding and lengthening the arena and digging a canal around it.
Now, thanks to the new dimensions (118 m wide and 621 long!), It simultaneously accommodated 12 quadrigs.
A fence was erected around the stadium, wooden stands were built for the patricians and tiers for the public were simpler. There were 150 thousand seats, in subsequent centuries, their number has more than doubled. At least as many fans were worried about the outcome of the competition while standing.
Three towers were located at one end of the arena, the central one with a gate for entering inside, and horse stalls - punishment cells - were attached to two other semicircles. Through the gate on the opposite side, the winners left the circus.
Along the arena, in the center, was a narrow platform decorated with two ancient Egyptian obelisks. Both obelisks survived and decorate the People's Square (Piazza del Popolo) and the square in front of the Lateran Palace (Palazzo del Laterano) in Rome.
On both sides of the platform rounding off with columns in the form of cones - meta. A chariot started from one of the metas to end at the opposite end of the arena in seven laps. We had to count the circles; for this, two supports were installed on the platform, each with seven balls. Over time, small fountains appeared in the form of dolphins - the sea horses of the patron saint of the lists of Neptune.
Sunset
After Caesar, Circo Massimo attracted the inhabitants of Ancient Rome for another half a millennium. It seemed that the decline of his fame was not yet coming soon. Many emperors who ruled in Rome contributed to the decoration of the circus.
So, after the fire that occurred in Rome in 31 BC, Emperor Augustus restored the circus and gave it its final form. It was based on stone stands in the form of steps for privileged spectators - senators and horsemen. The two upper tiers remained wooden; arcades with shops and taverns appeared outside. The decoration continued after August: under Claudius, the punishment cells became marble, and the metas became golden; under Nero, in the name of the expansion of the arena, they buried the canal.
The last time the races took place in the Circus Maximus in 549, during the reign of Emperor Totila. After that, the era of destruction began.
The Romans dismantled the stone from the ancient buildings for the construction of new buildings, the remains were covered with soil. Archaeologists who excavated in the 19th century before building a gas plant on this site found the lower rows of the circus at a depth of 6 meters.
Today in Rome, on the site of the Circus Maximus, there is an extensive oval meadow. The remaining ruins - parts of the walkway, marble punishment cells and stone stands - shock our contemporaries with their size.
Here is a very important recreation area for the city. Often it is used for mass celebrations, military equipment parades, concerts and Rome's birthday celebrations.
So, on June 22, 2014, as part of a world tour, the only concert in Italy of the legendary Rolling Stones, which brought together 65,000 rock fans, was held here.
How to get there
You can get to Massimo on foot in 5 minutes from the Roman Forum (Foro Romano) and the Colosseo (Colosseo), and from the Palatine hill directly to the circus leads the stairs Kaka (Scalae Caci). She keeps the memory of the tenth feat of Hercules. They say it is here that the three-headed shepherd, spewing flame, Hak, the son of Hephaestus and Medusa, hid the two best cows of Gerion, stolen from Heracles sleeping on the banks of the Tiber. Here Hercules entered into martial arts with Kak and returned the stolen.
If fatigue takes its toll, the most convenient thing is to take the subway and get to the Circo Massimo station (line B). They will also bring here:
- buses No. 60, 81, 75, 160 and 175;
- Tram number 3.
The Legend of the Sabines
Historians suggest that the events of the Sabine legend, which has become a favorite subject of world culture, unfolded here in the valley of the Circus Maximus.
At the time of Romulus, all of Rome fit on the Palatine and was so strong that it could subjugate everyone around it. But in the city of warriors there were no women, there was no one to continue the clan. They turned to neighbors for help, but were refused, and then the cunning Romulus invited them to celebrate the feast of Neptune, the god of horses, in a large valley at the foot of the Palatine. Among the others, the Sabines came, taking their wives and children with them. At the height of the holiday, Roman youths rushed to abduct Sabine women - Sabine women.
Their husbands and brothers did not tolerate insults and soon besieged Rome, but the same women, because of which it all began, were able to reconcile men. Thus began the unification of scattered fortified settlements on seven hills into an ancient and eternal city.
