Editing Circus Maximus (section)

== Topography and construction ==
=== Regal era ===
[[File:Obelisk-popolo.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Flaminio Obelisk|Obelisco Flaminio]]'', now in the [[Piazza del Popolo]], was once part of the dividing barrier (''spina'') at the Circus Maximus]]
The Circus Maximus was sited on the level ground of the Valley of Murcia ''([[Vallis Murcia]])'', between Rome's [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] and [[Palatine Hill]]s. In Rome's early days, the valley would have been rich agricultural land, prone to flooding from the river [[Tiber]] and the stream which divided the valley lengthwise. The stream was probably bridged at an early date, at the two points where the track had to cross it, and the earliest races would have been held within an agricultural landscape, "with nothing more than turning posts, banks where spectators could sit, and some shrines and sacred spots".<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=11}}. Humphrey describes this as "like a Greek [[hippodrome]]"</ref>

In [[Livy]]'s ''[[Ab urbe condita (Livy)|History of Rome]]'', the first [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] [[Roman Kingdom|king of Rome]], [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus]], built raised, wooden perimeter seating at the Circus for Rome's highest echelons (the [[equites]] and [[patricians]]), probably midway along the Palatine straight, with an awning against the sun and rain. His grandson, [[Tarquinius Superbus]], added the first seating for citizen-commoners ([[plebs]], or plebeians),<ref>Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, I. 35, 56</ref> either adjacent or on the opposite, Aventine side of the track.<ref>The Aventine was a predominantly plebeian area.</ref> Otherwise, the Circus was probably still little more than a trackway through surrounding farmland. By this time, it may have been drained<ref>Tarquin might have employed the plebs in constructing a conduit or drain (cloaca) for Murcia's stream, discharging into the Tiber. See {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=67}}</ref> but the wooden stands and seats would have frequently rotted and been rebuilt. The turning posts (''metae''), each made of three conical stone pillars, may have been the earliest permanent Circus structures; an open drainage canal between the posts would have served as a dividing barrier.<ref>Etruscan tomb paintings of chariot races offer a possible seating model for this earliest phase; noble sponsors and other dignitaries sit in elevated stands, complete with awning. Commoners lounge or sit below, at ground level. At the early Circus Maximus, the sloping ground afforded the possibility of turf seating tiers at an early date – as imagined by [[Ovid]] in his account of the first Consualia – replaced with wooden seating tiers by later sponsors and benefactors. See {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=65–66, 68–69}}, for early ''metae'' and a possible canal as central dividing barrier, see summary on pp. 292–3.</ref>

=== Republican era ===
The games' sponsor (Latin ''editor)'' usually sat beside the images of attending gods, on a conspicuous, elevated stand (''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#pulvinar|pulvinar]]'') but seats at the track's perimeter offered the best, most dramatic close-ups. In 494 BC (very early in the [[Roman Republic|Republican era]]) the [[Roman dictator|dictator]] [[Manius Valerius Maximus]] and his descendants were granted rights to a [[curule chair]] at the southeastern turn, an excellent viewpoint for the thrills and spills of chariot racing.<ref>In the earliest exercise of the right, a curule chair would have been brought to the spot; its permanent positioning there is unlikely. See {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=61}}</ref> In the 190s&nbsp;BC, stone track-side seating was built, exclusively for senators.<ref>Livy has the plebs seated "promiscuously" (''antea in promiscuo spectabant'') up to then: see {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=70}}</ref>

Permanent wooden starting stalls were built in 329 BC. They were gated, brightly painted,<ref>Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, 8.20.1</ref> and staggered to equalise the distances from each start place to the central barrier. In theory, they might have accommodated up to 25 four-horse chariots ([[Quadriga]]s) abreast but when team-racing was introduced,<ref>Racing teams might have been used as early as the Regal era (according to some later Roman traditions), or as late as the end of the Punic Wars.</ref> they were widened, and their number reduced. By the late Republican or early Imperial era, there were twelve stalls. Their divisions were fronted by [[herma|herms]] that served as stops for spring-loaded gates, so that twelve light-weight, [[Quadriga|four-horse]] or [[Biga (chariot)|two-horse chariots]] could be simultaneously released onto the track. The stalls were allocated by lottery, and the various racing teams were identified by their colors.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=171}}; the gates probably used the same animal-sinew torsion springing as the Roman [[ballista]]; ''Ibid'', pp. 137–138: opposing teams of Reds and Whites are prominent in late Republican literature, and Greens and Blues in the Imperial era. Some Roman authors held that team-racing in multiple colors dated back to the regal era. ''Ibid,'' p. 175 for allocation of stalls by lottery.</ref> Typically, there were seven laps per race. From at least 174&nbsp;BC, they were counted off using large sculpted eggs. In 33&nbsp;BC, an additional system of large bronze dolphin-shaped lap counters was added, positioned well above the central dividing barrier ''(euripus)'' for maximum visibility.<ref name="auto2">{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=261–265}}</ref>

[[File:Sestertius-Caracalla-Circus Maximus-RIC 0500a.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sestertius]] depicting [[Caracalla]], and the Circus Maximus, with Augustus' obelisk midway along the central dividing barrier ''(euripus'' or ''spina'')]]
[[Julius Caesar]]'s development of the Circus, commencing around 50&nbsp;BC, extended the seating tiers to run almost the entire circuit of the track, barring the starting gates and a processional entrance at the semi-circular end.<ref>A processional entrance at the semi-circular end,. prior to the erection there of Titus' triumphal arch, is assumed by most modern sources. See {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=69, 97ff}}</ref> The track measured approximately {{convert|621|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|150|m|ft|abbr=on}} in breadth. A&nbsp;canal between the track perimeter and its seating protected spectators and help drain the track.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=75, 84}}</ref> The inner third of the seating formed a trackside ''[[cavea]]''. Its front sections along the central straight were reserved for senators, and those immediately behind for ''equites''. The outer tiers, two thirds of the total, were meant for Roman plebs and non-citizens. They were timber-built, with wooden-framed service buildings, shops and entrance-ways beneath. The total number of seats is uncertain, but was probably in the order of 150,000; [[Pliny the Elder]]'s estimate of 250,000 seating places is unlikely. The wooden bleachers were damaged in a fire of 31&nbsp;BC, either during or after construction.<ref>As far as is known, there was no significant expansion of seating between Caesar's improvements and Pliny's estimate of 250,000 seats. His estimate ignores the necessary interruptions of seating rows by access stairways and corridors. It might represent a per foot run seating estimate, or include those watching from the nearby heights, outside the building proper. In late Imperial regionary catalogues, seating estimates for the Circus become even wilder; one gives an impossible 450,000 seats. Discussion is in {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=126}}</ref>

=== Imperial era ===
[[File:Sestertius Trajan Circus Maximus AD103.jpg|thumb|upright|Sestertius of Trajan celebrating the restoration of the Circus Maximus (minted 103 AD).<ref>Sear, David R. (2002). ''Roman Coins and Their Values''. Volume II: The Accession of Nerva to the overthrow of the Severan dynasty, AD96-AD235 (pp.112, coin#3208). London: Spink. {{ISBN|1-902040-45-7}}</ref>]]
The fire damage of 31 was probably repaired by Augustus (Caesar's successor and Rome's first emperor). He modestly claimed credit only for an obelisk and ''pulvinar'' at the site but both were major projects. Ever since its quarrying, long before Rome existed, the obelisk had been sacred to Egyptian Sun-gods.<ref>It was quarried and first dedicated in the reign of [[Seti I]]</ref> Augustus had it brought from [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]]<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/rome.html|title=Mysteries of the Nile – A World of Obelisks: Rome|website=NOVA Online}}</ref> at enormous expense, and erected midway along the dividing barrier of the Circus. It was Rome's first obelisk, an exotically sacred object and a permanent reminder of Augustus' victory over his Roman foes and their Egyptian allies in the recent civil wars. Thanks to him, Rome had secured both a lasting peace and a new Egyptian Province. The ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#pulvinar|pulvinar]]'' was built on monumental scale, a shrine or temple (''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#aedes|aedes]]'') raised high above the trackside seats. Sometimes, while games were in progress, Augustus watched from there, alongside the gods. Occasionally, his family would join him there. This is the Circus described by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] as "one of the most beautiful and admirable structures in Rome", with "entrances and ascents for the spectators at every shop, so that the countless thousands of people may enter and depart without inconvenience."<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=72–73}}. [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] described the Circus and its seating c.30 BC–AD 8. Augustus also rebuilt Ceres' temple, above the starting gates; it was probably damaged in the fire of 31 BC. ''Ibid,'' pp. 268–272 for Augustus' obelisk.</ref>
[[File:Topographical diagram of the Circus Maximus by Samuel Ball Platner.jpg|thumb|left|Groundplan of the Circus Maximus, according to [[Samuel Ball Platner]], 1911. The staggered starting gates are to the left.]]
The site remained prone to flooding,<ref>The ''Ludi Martiales'' of AD 12 were temporarily transferred from the Circus, after a flood.</ref> probably through the starting gates, until [[Claudius]] made improvements there; they probably included an extramural anti-flooding embankment. Fires in the crowded, wooden perimeter workshops and bleachers were a far greater danger. A fire of 36 AD seems to have started in a basket-maker's workshop under the stands, on the Aventine side; the emperor [[Tiberius]] compensated various small businesses there for their losses.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=100–101}}. Claudius' improvements at the Circus included stone-built or marble-clad starting stalls and rebuilt turning posts.</ref> In [[Great Fire of Rome|AD 64]], during [[Nero]]'s reign, fire broke out at the semi-circular end of the Circus, swept through the stands and shops, and destroyed much of the city. Games and festivals continued at the Circus, which was rebuilt over several years to the same footprint and design.<ref>Nero, inordinately fond of chariot-racing, may have considered the Circus rebuilding a priority but the overall cost of Rome's rebuilding must have proved an extraordinary drain on Imperial and public funds. Wooden bleachers for the Roman masses were an expedient, cost-effective solution. If Nero had grander plans for the Circus, they ended with his suicide under compulsion, after a coup d'etat in AD 68. {{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=101}}</ref>

By the late 1st century AD, the central dividing barrier comprised a series of water basins, or else a single watercourse open in some places and bridged over in others. It offered opportunities for artistic embellishment and decorative swagger, and included the temples and statues of various deities, fountains, and refuges for those assistants involved in more dangerous circus activities, such as beast-hunts and the recovery of casualties during races.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=293–294}}</ref>

In AD 81 the Senate built a triple arch honoring [[Titus]] at the semi-circular end of the Circus, to replace or augment a former processional entrance.<ref>This is not to be confused with the [[Arch of Titus]], built over the [[Via Sacra]] on the opposite side of the Palatine.</ref> The emperor [[Domitian]] built a new, multi-storey palace on the Palatine, connected somehow to the Circus; he likely watched the games in autocratic style, from high above and barely visible to those below. Repairs to fire damage during his reign may already have been under way before his assassination.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|p=74}}</ref>

The risk of further fire-damage, coupled with Domitian's fate, may have prompted [[Trajan]]'s decision to rebuild the Circus entirely in stone, and provide a new pulvinar in the stands where Rome's emperor could be seen and honoured as part of the Roman community, alongside their gods. Under Trajan, the Circus Maximus found its definitive form, which was unchanged thereafter save for some monumental additions by later emperors, an extensive, planned rebuilding of the starting gate area under [[Caracalla]], and repairs and renewals to existing fabric. Of these, Pliny claims that Trajan's works gained a further 5,000 seats. Some repairs were unforeseen and extensive, such as those carried out in [[Diocletian]]'s reign, after the collapse of a seating section killed some 13,000 people.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|1986|pp=80, 102, 126–9}}</ref>