Hippodrome

Hippodrome

Hippodrome

Ancient Greek stadium for horse and chariot racing

For other uses, see Hippodrome (disambiguation).

Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances".[1]

The term hippodroming refers to fraudulent sporting competitions, such as in racing or baseball.[2]

Etymology

The word "hippodrome" is derived from Ancient Greek hippódromos (Greek: ἱππόδρομος), a stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name itself is a compound of the words híppos (Greek: ἵππος), meaning "horse", and drómos (Greek: δρόμος), 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.[citation needed]

Biga chariot rounding a terma: Attic black-figure amphora, circa 500 BC, found at Vulci

List of Greek hippodromes

List of Roman circuses

See also

Other structures called hippodromes:

Similar modern structures:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Roman circuses.
  1. [1]
    "The London Hippodrome, Hippodrome Corner, Cranbourn Street, City of Westminster". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  2. [2]
    "hippodrome, v." greensdictofslang.com. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  3. [3]
    Archived 2006-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
  4. [4]
    "Horse Racecourse In Ancient Olympia Discovered After 1600 Years". ScienceDaily.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Hippodrome, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.