The modern sporting spectacles we manage to stage—and on occasion be appalled by—pale by comparison to the common entertainments of Rome.
The Circus Maximus, the beating heart at the center of the empire, accommodated a quarter million people for weekly chariot races.
They ate and drank to excess, and fights were common under the influence of furor circensis, the Romans’ name for the mass hysteria the spectacles induced.
They affiliated with teams supported by large businesses that invested heavily in training and upkeep of the horses and equipment.
Races started when the emperor dropped his napkin and a hapless referee would try to keep order from horseback.
After seven savage laps, those who managed not to be upended or killed and finish in the top three took home prizes.
Twenty-four years of winnings brought Diocles—likely an illiterate man whose signature move was the strong final dash—the staggering sum of 35,863,120 sesterces in prize money. »
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