A Hippodrome (Gr. from hippos, horse, and dromos, race, course) was a course provided by the Greeks for horse racing and chariot racing. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία This article is about the sport For other uses see Horserace (drinking game or Horse race (politics. Chariot racing (ἁρματοδρομία/armatodromia was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Sports Chariot Some present-day horse racing tracks are also called hippodromes, for example the Central Moscow Hippodrome. Central Moscow Hippodrome, founded in 1834 is the largest Horse racing track as well as Horse breeding research facility in Moscow and Russia

The Greek hippodrome corresponded to the Roman Circus Maximus, except that in the latter only four chariots ran at a time, whereas ten or more contended in the Greek games, so that the width was far greater, being about 400 ft. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Circus Maximus ( Latin for greatest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient Hippodrome and mass entertainment The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples , the course being 600 to 700 ft. long. The hippodrome should not be confused with the Roman amphitheatre which was used for spectator sports, games and displays, or the Greek and Roman theatres which were semi-circular and used for theatrical performances. An amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is an open-air venue for spectator sports concerts rallies or theatrical performances This article is about venues for live Theatre performances for information about venues for Film projection see Movie theater. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one

Biga chariot rounding a terma: Attic black-figure amphora, ca. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece 500 BCE, found at Vulci

The Greek hippodrome was usually set out on the slope of a hill, and the ground taken from one side served to form the embankment on the other side. Volci or Vulci is an Etruscan city (in Etruscan Velch or Velx in the Province of Viterbo, north to Rome, central One end of the hippodrome was semicircular, and the other end square with an extensive portico, in front of which, at a lower level, were the stalls for the horses and chariots. A portico is a Porch that is leading to the entrance of a building or extended as a Colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway supported by Columns The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. At both ends of the hippodrome there were posts (termai) that the chariots turned around. This was the most dangerous part of the track, and the Greeks put an altar to Taraxippus there to show the spot where many chariots got wrecked. Taraxippus (plural taraxippoi) means "horse disturber" in Greek (equorum con­turbator Taraxippus means disturber of horses.

One of the largest and most famous ancient hippodromes was the Hippodrome of Constantinople, built between AD 203 and 330. The Hippodrome of Constantinople (Sultanahmet Meydanı At Meydanı was a horse-racing track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of For the grenade launcher see M203. For the US area code see Area code 203. Events By Place Roman Empire May 11 — Constantine I refounds Byzantium, renames it New Rome [1] However, since it was built to a Roman design, it might be better categorized as a circus. The Roman Circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire.

List of Hippodromes (of Greek rather than Roman origin)

• Delos
• Delphi
• Isthmia
• Lykaion [2]
• Nemea
• Olympia

See also

• New York Hippodrome Theatre
• Circus (building)