Book

Fik Meijer

Chariot Racing

Spektakelshows in Rome and Constantinopel

Spectacles at Rome and Constantinople

At the beginning of the imperial age, the minimum annual income of a Roman citizen was between 100 and 125 sesterces. A common foot soldier earned around 1,000 sesterces a year; successful artisans twice that amount. In a single race at the Circus Maximus, however, a good chariot racer could win 50,000 sesterces. Calpurnianus, the Johan Cruyff of Roman chariot-driving, won a total of 1.2 million sesterces in first prizes alone, which constituted only a portion of his lifelong income. The professional contender Diocles actually raked in the astronomical sum of 36 million sesterces during his career.

In Chariot Racing , Fik Meijer presents the chariot racers as the soccer stars of the ancient world. The comparison applies not only to their incomes, but also to their popularity and usually humble origins. Such analogies are typical of the refreshing, down-to-earth way Meijer writes on his favourite topics. The subject of chariot races, the main act of Roman public life, also seemed an important companion to his previous book Gladiators . And because historians have until now tended to focus on the ‘bread’ of Juvenal’s ‘bread and circuses’, Meijer’s book explores previously uncovered ground.

Meijer has made thorough use of scarce – and sometimes obscure – sources in his lively narrative. He provides a wealth of statistics – the number of victories for the competing stables (the Whites, Blues, Reds and Greens), the prize money, the number of races held on a single day – and does not shy away from drawing conclusions, even on the basis of information found only in carefully preserved mediaeval manuscripts. Meijer sees the contests not so much as an opium for the people, but as a political barometer; the Circus Maximus was the only place in the autocratically ruled empire where the supreme leader, the Caesar, was confronted with the people’s approval or disapproval.

And fortunately, Meijer is truly interested in the sport itself. Who were the superstars? What did an exciting race look like? Why did they race round pillars? Why did they use such small horses? Why did the Reds win so often? How long was the track, what were the risks, the techniques, the training methods, the dirty tricks? This host of detail bears witness to Meijer’s contagious enthusiasm for all things related to daily life in ancient Rome.

The press on Gladiators:
Fik Meijer conveys just about every aspect of the gladiator fights in his thrilling, fast-paced book.

NRC Handelsblad

Meijer’s pen succeeds in evoking the woeful stench of blood.

Trouw

Translations

Fik Meijer

Fik Meijer, professor of ancient history at the University of Amsterdam from 1992 to 2007, is a specialist in maritime history. His publications on the subject include St. Paul’s Voyage to Rome (2000). Having also written books on such specific themes as gladiators, chariot racing, Roman emperors…

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Details

Wagenrennen. Spektakelshows in Rome and Constantinopel (2004). Non-fiction, 233 pages.

with illustrations, maps, notes and references

Publisher

Athenaeum-Polak & Van Gennep

Weteringschans 259
NL - 1017 XJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 760 72 10

E-mail:
[email protected]
Website:
https://www.singeluitgeverije…

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