Interesting facts about Rome’s oldest stadium and the greatest and largest Stadium in mankind history – the “Circus Maximus”.
- The Circus of Maxentius is considered the largest stadium in ancient Rome and the first stadium built by the Romans. It was designed for chariot races (ludi cercenses), but also other events were held there including gladiatorial combats (ludi gladiatorii) and animal hunts, some of which were exotically spectacular in the extreme, such as when Pompey organized a contest between a group of barbarian gladiators and 20 elephants. The popular chariot races were held here for almost a millennium.
- It was first constructed in 6 century BC. and various improvements were made to the design of this massive arena. The stadium was surrounded with rows of seats all around, 3 stories high. The lowest were made of concrete and stone and wood for the rest. The lower part of the seating area was built in marble. Shops outside the circus would have served the needs of the spectators. ). A decorated barrier (spina or euripus) ran down the centre of the track, so that chariots ran in a circuit around conical turning posts (metae) placed at each end. The spina also had two obelisks added over the centuries, one in the centre and one at the end.
