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A Hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing
Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrianism sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot racing of Ancient Rome are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology....
 and chariot racing
Chariot racing

Chariot racing was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, Roman Empire and Byzantine empire sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse?they frequently suffered serious injury and even death?but generated strong spectator enthusiasm....
. Some present-day horse racing tracks are also called hippodromes, for example the Central Moscow Hippodrome
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
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 Circus
Circus (building)

The Roman Circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. Along with Roman theatre s and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time....
, 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 ., the course being 600 to . long. The hippodrome was not a "Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue for spectator sports, concerts, rallies, or theatrical performances. There are two similar, but distinct types of amphitheatres: Ancient amphitheatres, built by the ancient Rome, were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used for spectator sports; these comp...
" which was used for spectator sports, games and displays, or a Greek or Roman semi-circular theater used for theatrical performances. 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.






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A Hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing
Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrianism sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot racing of Ancient Rome are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology....
 and chariot racing
Chariot racing

Chariot racing was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, Roman Empire and Byzantine empire sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse?they frequently suffered serious injury and even death?but generated strong spectator enthusiasm....
. Some present-day horse racing tracks are also called hippodromes, for example the Central Moscow Hippodrome
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
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 Circus
Circus (building)

The Roman Circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. Along with Roman theatre s and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time....
, 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 ., the course being 600 to . long. The hippodrome was not a "Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue for spectator sports, concerts, rallies, or theatrical performances. There are two similar, but distinct types of amphitheatres: Ancient amphitheatres, built by the ancient Rome, were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used for spectator sports; these comp...
" which was used for spectator sports, games and displays, or a Greek or Roman semi-circular theater used for theatrical performances. 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. One end of the hippodrome was semicircular, and the other end square with an extensive portico
Portico

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 or enclosed by walls....
, in front of which, at a lower level, were the stalls for the horse
Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s and chariots. 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
Taraxippus

Taraxippus means "horse disturber" in Greek . It was the name of a horse-frighthening spot or a ghost present during horse races at major sites of ancient Games....
 (disturber of horses) there to show the spot where many chariots wrecked.

A large ancient hippodromes was the Hippodrome of Constantinople
Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a Race track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and the largest city in Europe....
, built between AD 203 and 330. However, since it was built to a Roman design, some would classify it as a circus
Circus (building)

The Roman Circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. Along with Roman theatre s and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time....
.

List of Hippodromes (of Greek rather than Roman origin)

  • Delos
    Delos

    The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece....
  • Delphi
    Delphi

    Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
  • Isthmia
    Isthmia

    Isthmia can refer to one of the following:* The ancient Isthmian Games* The Isthmia archaeological site related to the Games, including the Temple of Isthmia...
  • Lykaion
  • Nemea
    Nemea

    For other articles related to Nemea see Nemea 'Nemea is an ancient site near the head of the valley of the River Elissos in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece....
  • Olympia
    Olympia, Greece

    Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi....
     


See also

  • New York Hippodrome
    New York Hippodrome

    The Hippodrome Theatre stood in New York City from 1905 to 1939, at 6th and 43rd/44th, on the site of what is now a large modern office building known as "The Hippodrome Center" , in the Theatre District, New York of Midtown Manhattan....
     Theatre
  • Circus (building)
    Circus (building)

    The Roman Circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. Along with Roman theatre s and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time....