The Hippodrome was an ancient Roman arena used to hold chariot racing. The most famous arena was the Circus Maximus, which was 600 meter's long and 200 meter's wide. It could hold up to 250,000 people (25% of the population of Rome). It was built into a hillside, and the material dug out was used as a support for the other side of the building. Seats ran in tiers around the u-shaped arena (except for the open end). A fence ran down the middle, called a Spine, and the chariots went around this.

Chariots were pulled by two or four horses, and were driven seven times around the ring at extremely fast speeds. Great skill was needed and sometimes accidents happened, drivers were also trampled to death on a regular basis. Big crowds turned out to watch the races. The racers were divided into teams, red, white, blue and green, and their fans wore these colours. Huge bets were placed on the races.

At one end of the track, there were boxes where the chariots waited. The judges sat above them and started the race by dropping a white handkerchief. There was a rope in front of the horses was lifted and the race began.

The Emperor's palace was behind the Circus Maximus, and he had a special box where he could sit without even leaving the grounds of the palace. He attended most of the races that took place.

The races were an occasion to dress up. The ladies all dressed up in their best gowns, as did the men. People wore a lot of jewellery. Even the horses sometimes had pearls threaded into their manes and tails.

Even today, these arenas would be spectacular. Seating 250,000 people, it would be the biggest stadium in the world. Today the largest stadium can hold 120,000 people, so this shows how far advanced the Romans were two thousand years ago.