Hippodrome

The word "hippodrome" is derived from Ancient Greek hippódromos (), a stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name itself is a compound of the words híppos (), meaning "horse", and drómos (), meaning "course". The ancient Roman counterpart was the circus. ==Description==

One end of the hippodromos of the Ancient Greeks was semicircular, while the other was a quadrilateral with an extensive portico. At the front thereof, at a lower level, were the stalls for the horses and chariots. On either end of the hippodromos were posts (Greek termata) around which the chariots turned. This was the most dangerous part of the track and the Greeks put an altar to Taraxippus (disturber of horses) there to show the spot where many chariots were wrecked. Where possible, it was built on the slope of a hill and the ground excavated from one side was transferred to the other to form an embankment thereat. chariot rounding a terma: Attic black-figure amphora, circa'' 500 BC, found at Vulci ==List of Greek hippodromes==

• Delos • Delphi • Isthmia • Lageion • Mount Lykaion • Nemea • Olympia ==List of Roman circuses==

• Aphrodisias • Camulodunum (Colchester, England) • Caesarea Maritima • Circus Maximus • Circus of Maxentius • Gerasa • Hippodrome of Berytus • Hippodrome of Constantinople • Hippodrome of Thessalonica • Tyre Hippodrome • Miróbriga (Mirobriga Celticorum) • Roman circus of Mérida • Roman Stadium of Philippopolis ==See also==