What Were The Horse-chairs Like?
Probably Rome’s traditional horse-chairs remind us of very famous movies like Ben-Hur. In it, the character Judah Ben-Hur, played by Charlton Heston, is forced to face his enemy, Tribune Messala, in a chariot race at full speed.
While the film’s characters leave everything in the arena, spectators focus their attention on what happens around the Roman circus.
Although it’s a fiction, the film adaptation of Lew Wallace’s novel tells us a lot about what horse chariots were like. In the times of the Roman Empire, this sporting activity represented one of the main meeting and entertainment points.
C atom originate the chariot horses?
According to Roman accounts, horse chariot racing dates back to the time of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. According to legend, the god of war (Mars) generated the twins Romulus and Remus in Rea Silvia. After birth, they were thrown into the river for protection.
The children were rescued by a wolf named Luperca, who raised and nursed them both on Mount Palatine. When they are adults, Romulus and Remus are the ones who return the throne to Numitor and found Rome in the same place where they were saved by Luperca.
History also tells us that this activity began to be held in the Campus Martius, during the celebration of Esquirria and Consualia . These two annual celebrations were very popular during the Roman Empire, but have lost importance during modern times.
At this time, chariots were pulled by mules, which were then replaced by horses, to give greater speed and better aesthetics to the races. Nevertheless , chariot racing gained fame as popular entertainment after the creation of circuses.
Q hen the races were held in chariot horses?
In the Roman circus, chariot racing was performed in the context of games called Ludi Circensis. In this event, other activities were also carried out, such as representations of battles, acrobatics, exhibitions of horsemen riding and riding, boxing, etc.
However, most of these hobbies have become boring and uninteresting for people over time. For this reason, chariot races and battles became increasingly violent to attract the attention of spectators.
Violence has become the main resource to create more exciting games and win people’s preference. In addition, the bloody races attracted more bets, which was profitable for those dedicated to managing them.
As interest grew, horse chariots began to take place in the oldest and most important amphitheater in the Roman Empire, the Circus Maximus. Its location dates back to the legend of Romulus and Remus, as the amphitheater is in the Murcia valley, between Monte Aventino and the Palatino.
the horse in ancient rome
The most common horse in Rome, more than 2,000 years old, was very similar to the Asturcon breed, which we can currently find in the meadows of northern Spain, mainly in Asturias.
This horse was like a pony (remember the stature of the ancient Romans was quite short). Among the characteristics of this horse is a strong and robust body, wide neck, long coat and short limbs.
Today we have examples of this Roman pony in the Shetland, Icelandic, Portuguese Garan or Basque pottok breed. Among the peculiarities of these horses is their hardness and resistance to march for a long time without getting tired.
Along with all these advantages, there are also some disadvantages. As they are short animals, they are not very efficient at attacking in battles against closed formations. Among other reasons, because they don’t have enough weight and height.
Another difficulty that must be taken into account about these little horses was related to their personality. They have a more rebellious temperament than any other horse and are not easy to tame.
