The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an
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 p ...
stadium for
horse racing 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 f ...
. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used in the modern
French language and some others, with the meaning of "horse racecourse". Hence, some present-day horse-racing tracks also include the word "hippodrome" in their names, such as the
Hippodrome de Vincennes and the
Central Moscow Hippodrome
Central Moscow Hippodrome (russian: Центральный Московский ипподром), founded in 1834 in Moscow, is the largest horse racing track in Russia. The site includes a horse breeding research facility.
References
Extern ...
. In the
English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
the term is occasionally used for theatres.
Overview
The Greek hippodrome was similar to the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
version, the
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
. (The hippodrome was not a
Roman amphitheatre
Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, '' venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About 230 Ro ...
, which was used for spectator sports, executions, and displays, or a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
or
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
semicircular amphitheater 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, in front of which, at a lower level, were the stalls for the
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s 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 In Greek mythology, the Taraxippus (plural: ''taraxippoi'', "horse disturber", Latin ''equorum conturbator'') was a presence, variously identified as a ghost or dangerous site, blamed for frightening horses at hippodromes throughout Greece. Some '' ...
(disturber of horses) there to show the spot where many chariots wrecked.
Οne large ancient hippodrome was the
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
, built between AD 203 and 330.
in the
English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
''Hippodrome'' is occasionally used in the names of
theatres
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, after the
Hippodrome
The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...
which opened in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances".
In the 20th Century, the term ''
Aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
'' was created, modeled on ''Hippodrome''.
List of Greek hippodromes
*
Delos
*
Delphi
*
Isthmia
*
Lageion
The Lageion (Greek:Λαγεῖον, translit: Layeῖon) also known as the Hippodrome of Alexandria, was a hippodrome situated in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, below the Serapeum. It is named after the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, P ...
*
Mount Lykaion
Mount Lykaion ( grc, Λύκαιον ὄρος, ''Lýkaion Óros''; la, Mons Lycaeus) is a mountain in Arcadia, Greece. Lykaion has two peaks: ''Stefani'' to the north and St. Ilias (, ''Agios Īlías'') to the south where the altar of Zeus is lo ...
*
Nemea
*
Olympia
List of Roman hippodromes
*
Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...
*
Caesarea Maritima
*
Gerasa
Jerash ( ar, جرش ''Ǧaraš''; grc, Γέρασα ''Gérasa'') is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located north of the capital cit ...
*
Hippodrome of Berytus
The hippodrome of Berytus was a circus in the Roman colony of Berytus (modern-day Beirut). It is one of two hippodromes in Beirut.
History
The hippodrome was built close to the port and forum of Berytus (modern Beirut). It was one of the larges ...
*
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
*
Hippodrome of Thessalonica
The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...
*
Tyre Hippodrome
The Tyre Hippodrome is a UNESCO World Heritage site of the city of Tyre in south Lebanon dating back to the Second century CE The Expositio, a description of the world written in the second half of the fourth century by an unknown writer abo ...
*
Miróbriga
Miróbriga (''Mirobriga Celticorum'') is an ancient Roman town located near the village and civil parish of Santiago do Cacém, in the municipality of the same name in the south-west of Portugal. Archeology revealed that the town occupied the s ...
(Mirobriga Celticorum)
*
Roman circus of Mérida
The Roman circus of Mérida ( es, Circo romano) is a ruined Roman circus in Mérida, Spain. Used for chariot racing, it was modelled on the Circus Maximus in Rome and other circus buildings throughout the Empire. Measuring more than 400 m i ...
*
Roman Stadium of Philippopolis
List of modern horse-racing venues
See also
Other structures called hippodromes:
*
Hippodrome du parc de Beyrouth
*
Kensington Hippodrome
*
Madison Square Garden (1879)
Madison Square Garden (1879–1890) was an arena in New York City at the northeast corner of 26th Street (Manhattan), East 26th Street and Madison Avenue (Manhattan), Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The first venue to use that name, it seating capa ...
. It is known as the "Great Roman Hippodrome"
*
New York Hippodrome Theatre
*
Brighton Hippodrome
Brighton Hippodrome is an entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has been empty and out of use since 2007, when its use as a Bingo (Commonwealth), bingo hall ceased.
From its const ...
Entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton
*
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.
Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...
Theatre
*
Bristol Hippodrome
The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...
Theatre
*
Hippodrome Theatre (Baltimore)
The Hippodrome Theatre is a theater in Baltimore, Maryland.
History
Built in 1914 for impresarios Marion Scott Pearce and Scheck, the 2300-seat theater was the foremost vaudeville house in Baltimore, as well as a movie theater. When the movie ...
, or the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
*
Hippodrome Theater (Richmond, Virginia)
The Hippodrome Theater is located in Richmond, Virginia. It is situated in the historical African-American neighborhood of Jackson Ward, which was referred to as "The Harlem of the South" during the 1920s.The Hippodrome Theater. (2014). Retrieved ...
Similar modern structures:
*
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
*
Oval track
Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traff ...
*
Dragstrip
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile (1320 feet, 402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201&n ...
References
[“Hippodrome of Constantinople.” Hippodrome Of Constantinople - Istanbul Tour Studio – Istanbul Guide, https://istanbultourstudio.com/things-to-do/hippodrome-of-constantinople./ref>
{{Authority control
Ancient chariot racing
Ancient Greek buildings and structures
Sport in ancient Greece
Sports venues by type
Harness racing
]