#RomanCircus20 Blog – Aimee

Today work experience student Aimee gives us another fascinating look into what a day at the races could look like!

“Today was my first visit to the Circus. Father told me I was in for a real spectacle, but nothing could have prepared me for the electric atmosphere of the races. The first shock was that we sat beside Mother and my sisters; at the amphitheatre, we’ve always had to sit apart!

A man standing above the 8 starting gates – my brother tells me he is the game’s sponsor – dropped a white cloth on the ground, and the chariots shot off! They all seemed to want to be on the inner edge, to make the distance shorter, but the horses could barely find empty ground to put their hooves down as they jostled about! At one point, a chariot even crashed into the corner of the spina – the island in the centre of the track – and that was their race over. It was absolutely deafening, and the whole crowd came alive with every crash or win! I got completely caught up in it when one of our drivers won and went to collect his prizes (a wreath, a palm branch and a trophy) from the judges’ box. I cheered so loudly I thought I’d lose my voice, especially during his victory lap! I’d love to be a charioteer, but Father says freeborn Roman citizens rarely are – I suppose I’ll have to stay a spectator.”