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Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the
Hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...
which opened in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fraudulent sporting competitions, such as in racing or baseball.


Etymology

The word "hippodrome" is derived from
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''hippódromos'' (), a stadium for
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
and
chariot racing Chariot racing (, ''harmatodromía''; ) was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, ancient Greek, Roman Empire, Roman, and Byzantine Empire, Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...
. The name itself is a compound of the words ''híppos'' (), meaning "horse", and ''drómos'' (), meaning "course". The
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
counterpart was 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 unicy ...
.


Description

One end of the ''hippodromos'' of the Ancient Greeks was semicircular, while the other was a quadrilateral with an extensive
portico A portico is a porch 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. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
. At the front thereof, 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 mi ...
s and chariots. On either end of the ''hippodromos'' were posts (Greek ''termata'') around which the chariots turned. This was the most dangerous part of the track and the Greeks put an altar to
Taraxippus In Greek mythology, the Taraxippos (plural: ''taraxippoi'', "horse disturber", latinized as Taraxippus; Latin ''equorum conturbator'') was a presence, variously identified as a ghost or dangerous site, blamed for frightening horses at hippodromes th ...
(disturber of horses) there to show the spot where many chariots were wrecked. Where possible, it was built on the slope of a hill and the ground excavated from one side was transferred to the other to form an embankment thereat.


List of Greek hippodromes

*
Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...
*
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
* 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, ...
*
Mount Lykaion Mount Lykaion (, ''Lýkaion Óros''; ) 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 located.Cook, A.B. ''Zeus'', 81. 1914. The nort ...
*
Nemea Nemea (; ; ) is an ancient site in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae (Argolis), Cleonae in ancient Argolis, it is today situated in the regional units of Greece, regional unit of Corin ...
* Olympia


List of Roman circuses

*
Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; ) was a Hellenistic Greek city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Asia Minor, today's Anatolia in Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the coast of the Aegean Sea, and s ...
*
Caesarea Maritima Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...
*
Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian language, Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot racing, chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine Hill, Avent ...
*
Gerasa Jerash (; , , ) 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 30.0 miles north of the capital city Amman. The earliest evidence of settl ...
*
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 The Hippodrome of Constantinople (; ; ) was a Roman circus, circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (). The word ...
*
Tyre Hippodrome The Tyre Hippodrome, located in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, is an ancient sporting arena and UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to the second century AD. Built during the Roman era, the hippodrome was primarily used for chariot r ...
*
Miróbriga ''Mirobriga'' or ''Mirobriga of the Celts'' (''Mirobrigensis qui celtici cognominantur - Plin. Nat. IV 118'') was an ancient town in the westernmost part of Lusitania during the Iron Age and Roman Times that was mentioned by Pliny the Elder and ...
(Mirobriga Celticorum) *
Roman circus of Mérida The Roman circus of Mérida is a Roman circus in the Roman '' colonia'' of Emerita Augusta –present-day Mérida, Spain–, capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. Used for chariot racing during ancient Rome, it was modelled on the Circu ...
* Roman Stadium of Philippopolis


See also

*
List of horse racing venues This is a list of currently active horse racing venues, both Thoroughbred racing and harness racing, sorted by country. In most English-speaking countries they are called "racecourses". The United States and some parts of Canada use the ...
Other structures called hippodromes: * Hippodrome du parc de Beyrouth *
Kensington Hippodrome The Kensington Hippodrome was a racecourse built in Notting Hill, London, in 1837, by entrepreneur John Whyte. Whyte leased of land from James Weller Ladbroke, owner of the Ladbroke Estate,Wormell, 1 and proceeded to enclose "the slopes of No ...
*
Madison Square Garden (1879) Madison Square Garden (1879–1890) was an arena in New York City at the northeast corner of East 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The first venue to use that name, it seated 10,000 spectators. It was replaced with a new buildin ...
. It is known as the "Great Roman Hippodrome" *
New York Hippodrome The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theater located on Sixth Avenue between West 43rd and West 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater operated from 1905 to 1939 ...
Theatre * Brighton Hippodrome 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 v ...
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 r ...
Theatre *
Hulme Hippodrome The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester, England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building, a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 19 ...
Theatre in Hulme, Manchester *
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 ...
*
The Hippodrome The Hippodrome, formerly known as the McElroy Auditorium, is a 5,155 permanent seat multipurpose arena located in Waterloo, Iowa. The auditorium was built in 1919 and renovated in 1936, when the roof was raised, floor was excavated and additiona ...
, formerly known as the McElroy Auditorium in Waterloo, Iowa * Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome 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 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 traffic is almost univ ...
*
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

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