Third Year Latin Coursework- Chariot Racing

The Circus Maximus was full and the race goers were expecting a great day of racing. The hustle and bustle of wine-merchants, caterers and pastry-cooks selling some pre-race food was audible. The occasional sound of astrologers predicting the luck of people who had bet on races could also be heard.

The procession to signal the start of the days racing began, with magistrates leading the way, followed by priests with statues of the gods on the stands they were carrying. Jupiter came first, welcomed by a huge roar from the crowd, myself included. A number of lesser gods followed, who were in turn followed by members of the senate. Once the procession had paraded around the Circus Maximus, the herald ordered that today’s racing commence. The members of the first race were lined up, so I went to the changing rooms to get ready.

The hot sun beat down upon us, the staring eyes of 250,000 people making the heat ten times more unbearable. The chariots were lined up in a row at the end of the Circus Maximus, near to the huge arches. The herald made his announcement, telling the crowd our names and our factions. The speech ended with the shout of ‘Hail Caesar!’ from the herald, followed by the crowd. We, the riders, were oblivious to the shout. We were staring at each other, then at the crowd, then straight ahead, our eyes focusing on the turn, which was hazy with the heat of the day. The riders were from around the empire, mostly from northern Italy and they were all slaves. My main threat was ‘The Kid’, a fourteen year old who had been chosen to race when his master saw him ride at the stables. Each team had two representatives in the race. There were four teams, russatus, albatus, prasinus, and my team, venetus. I checked that I was carrying my knife beside my waist. A charioteers’ knife was a life-saving tool if I was to crash, as it is vital to free yourself from the reins so that you can jump clear of the oncoming horses.

The chariots were lined up in the staggered formation. I was in the fifth lane; ‘The Kid’ was on my left in the fourth. The starter’s rope that made sure nobody cheated was risen. A huge roar came up from the crowd, yet all I could hear was my heartbeat. The herald raised his napkin, the horns blew, and the rope was lowered quickly. With a loud shout, I started the horses off on their race, and I whipped the four horses in quick succession to get them up to speed. Off they went, the forces so great that I nearly fell off my chariot! I settled the horses down at a steady pace, as going too fast for the first couple of laps tires the horses, so only allowing them to go slowly on the final laps. Five chariots went racing ahead. If they were to carry on at that speed there horses would be unable to continue after five laps. The first turn was closing on the leaders. I kept an eye out for any crashes, and sure enough, a member of the red team took the turn too sharply, the result being that the chariot fell over onto one side, careering into the wall. A huge cheer came up from the crowd. I performed the turn well, and I was now in fifth place. I was however some distance behind the leaders, but I knew that their horses would soon tire. The second turn went badly for me, because I took it too wide. ‘The Kid’ went past me like a shot, and I was angry with myself for losing my place. Determined to make amends for my error, I whipped the horses to make them catch up. These five year olds did their job well, and we were level with ‘The Kid’ by the finish line. The egg dropped from the lap marker. I took the opportunity of being level with ‘The Kid’, so I gently eased my horses over onto his, forcing him into the spina. A huge cheer came up from most of the crowd, except for the russatus supporters, who were upset that their hero was out of the race.

The race went smoothly for a while, and I gradually caught up to the race leaders. As I predicted, their horses tired and I was able to glide past them. It was the last lap at this time, and I was neck and neck with an opponent from the albatus faction. We both rounded the last turn, and we were running up the home straight level. The crowd stood, their shouts drowning out the sound of the pounding hooves. I was whipping and screaming for my horses to go faster, which they did with grace. We flashed across the line, winning the race by two lengths. My master jumped for joy, and I shouted with delight. My first ever win.