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Ancient Rome · Vehicles and getting around

Chariot

Latin: currus

A light two-wheeled vehicle pulled by horses. Romans raced chariots in the circus and rode them in victory parades.

Wheels
Two
Used for
Racing and victory parades
Racing teams
Red, White, Blue and Green
Four-horse chariot
Quadriga

Find it on the map

History Not for war

Chariots were used in battle in many ancient lands, but by the time Rome was a great power its armies fought on foot and on horseback, not in chariots. Romans used chariots for two things: racing, and the triumph, a parade for a victorious general who rode through Rome in a decorated chariot.

The Circus Maximus in Rome today, a long grassy park below the ruins of the emperors' palace on the Palatine Hill. Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History Racing chariots

Racing chariots were very light, so the horses could run fast. A chariot pulled by two horses was a biga, and one pulled by four was a quadriga. Drivers wrapped the reins around their bodies and carried a knife to cut themselves free in a crash.

The best drivers became rich and famous. An inscription in Rome honors Gaius Appuleius Diocles, who won 1,462 races in the 2nd century AD and earned a huge fortune in prize money.

A Roman mosaic from Lyon, France, showing a chariot race in a circus, with the central barrier. Photo: John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The quadriga, a chariot pulled by four horses, on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (a much later statue in the Roman style). Photo: א (Aleph) Creator: Johann Gottfried Schadow, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Art In this artwork

The driver here wears a soldier's helmet and cloak, which suits a parade more than a race: racing drivers wore leather caps and tunics in their team's color. Real racing chariots were usually pulled by two or four horses.

Back view

Look closer

  • How many wheels does the chariot have?
  • Find the laurel wreath decoration on the side.

Think about it

  1. Why would a racing chariot need to be very light?
  2. Which modern sports stars are as famous as Roman charioteers?
  3. Why might a general want to parade through the city in a chariot?

Key words

Biga
A chariot pulled by two horses.
Quadriga
A chariot pulled by four horses.
Auriga
A chariot driver.

Sources

The history on this page is a short summary based on these sources:

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Chariot" and "Triumph"
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Circus" and "Chariot racing"
  • Inscription honoring the charioteer Gaius Appuleius Diocles (CIL VI 10048), 2nd century AD

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