Hippodrome (other)
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Hippodrome is a term is sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types including theatres after the Hippodrome which opened in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". It is derived from the
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''hippodromos'' ( el, ἱππόδρομος), a stadium for
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
and
chariot racing Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...
. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
version, the Roman circus, circus, was similar to the Greek hippodrome.


Description

One end of the ancient Greek ''hippodromos'' 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. At both ends of the hippodrome were posts (Greek ''termata'') that the chariots turned around. This was the most dangerous part of the track and the Greeks put an altar to Taraxippus (disturber of horses) there to show the spot where many chariots wrecked. It was built on the slope of a hill if possible and the ground taken from one side served to form the embankment on the other side.


List of Greek hippodromes

* Delos * Delphi * Isthmia (ancient city), Isthmia * Lageion * Mount Lykaion * Nemea * Olympia, Greece, Olympia


List of Roman circuses

* Aphrodisias * Caesarea Maritima * Circus Maximus * Gerasa * Hippodrome of Berytus * Hippodrome of Constantinople * Hippodrome of Thessalonica * Tyre Hippodrome * Miróbriga (Mirobriga Celticorum) * Roman circus of Mérida * Plovdiv Roman Stadium, Roman Stadium of Philippopolis


See also

*List of horse racing venues Other structures called hippodromes: * Beirut Hippodrome#Hippodrome du parc de Beyrouth, Hippodrome du parc de Beyrouth * Kensington Hippodrome * Madison Square Garden (1879). It is known as the "Great Roman Hippodrome" * New York Hippodrome Theatre * Brighton Hippodrome Entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton * Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre * Bristol Hippodrome Theatre * Hulme Hippodrome Theatre in Hulme, Manchester * Hippodrome Theatre (Baltimore), or the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center * Hippodrome Theater (Richmond, Virginia) Similar modern structures: * Velodrome * Oval track * Dragstrip


References

{{Authority control Horse racing venues, Ancient chariot racing Ancient Greek buildings and structures Sport in ancient Greece Sports venues by type Harness racing