Chariot races
Chariot races were established in the Olympic Games as late as 680 BC, in the 25th Olympiad. The owners of the chariots could be individuals or cities that spent large amounts of money on horse breeding. Therefore, the event was endowed with a strong aristocratic quality.
Chariot races were held in the hippodrome and took their name after the number of animals and equine species involved.
- Four-horse chariot (tethrippon) race: The race involved chariots drawn by four horses, introduced in 680 BC.
- Apene: In the race, that was first held in 500 BC, competed chariots drawn by two mules.
- Synoris: A two-horse chariot race, established in 408 BC.
- Four-horse chariot (tethrippon) race for foals: A race for four-horse chariots pulled by foals, first staged in 384 BC.
- Synoris for foals: It was introduced in 268 BC and involved two-horse chariots drawn by foals.
Four-horse chariot races surpassed all other events in popularity, splendour and spectacle, as the contestants were kings, tyrants, noblemen and wealthy individuals. The race consisted of twelve laps around the hippodrome. The length of the synoris race was eight laps.
The hippaphesis, the starting system, was particularly impressive as it involved a complex mechanism.
The charioteer’s art required great dexterity and strength. The spot that entailed accident risk was the turning post of the nyssa on the charioteer’s left, which he had to avoid as he made his turn without touching it, preventing the chariot from deviating from its course or colliding with its counterparts.
The charioteer was clad in long chiton and held the reins in one hand and a long stick in the other. A small bell was suspended from the stick that made the horse speed up, but it could also serve as a kentron, which was a goad, driving the horse faster.
As in the case of horse races, the winner in chariot races was not the charioteer, but the horse owner that could be a city or a deme, a woman or even a child. The charioteer was offered a red woollen band tied around his forehead.
