Abstract
AbstractIt is a place where the general public can gather communally to watch ludi, provisionally erasing invisible boundary lines which sharply divide one social class from another. The Circus is also a location which has the capability to eradicate personal and societal perceptions potentially rendering a crowd in an intoxicated, wanton state. The association existent between society and its predetermined allocation of space in many venues (e.g. hippodromes, theaters, amphitheaters, etc.) which exhibit sports and spectacles, more generally, is well attested to in the Circus Maximus’s history. Using this as the conceptual framework, this article attempts to assess the recurrent, measured, and far-ranging evolutions and interdependencies between the aristocracy and the Circus they constructed. The construction methodology, I argue, was constantly being adapted to suit specific political agendas beginning with its legendary foundation under the Etruscan kings in the sixth-century BCE and ending with its us...
Highlights
For more than 1,000 years there has been horse racing in Rome
Romulus’ Consualian plan used entertaining religious events to help establish Rome as a political power in Italy through violence and sports—two characteristics closely associated with the Circus Maximus and Roman culture in general
The late first-century CE Circus Maximus saw improvements to the spina which included a series of water basins, or perhaps a single watercourse open in some places and bridged over in others
Summary
The aims of this paper were to highlight the means by which the Roman Aristocracy intertwined Religion and Entertainment within the confines of the Circus Maximus. The scope of the paper will span the Sixth-Century BCE Etruscan Foundations through the end of the Late Roman Empire (476 BCE). A main focus will be Architectural Constructions and Modifications throughout the Circus’s history in an effort to draw out the Roman Political interconnections with Sports and Spectacles in the Ancient Roman World. Circus Maximus has undergone since the sixth-century BCE—architecturally and usage wise—serves as evidence to both the flexibility of public spaces and usages by the aristocracy from pre-Roman times through the Roman Empire. Subjects: Archaeology; Classical Studies; Cultural Studies; History; Religion; Translation & Interpretation
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