12 THE CHARIOTS. 



following is a translation of the passage : "Just as a skilful horseman riding 

 four chosen horses along a public road to some great city, where his course ia 

 to terminate, the whole town assembles to behold him, and gaze upon him 

 with wonder and applause ; while he leaps with ease from the back of one horse 

 to another, and flies along with them." 



The Greeks must have carried their management of the horse to a very high 

 state of perfection ; and the Grecian horse must have been exceedingly docile, 

 when exhibitions of this kind could take place. 



It was, however, to the draught of the chariot that this animal was princi- 

 pally devoted in some other countries, and among the Greeks in the early 

 period of their history. No mention is made of a single horseman on either 

 side, during the ten years' siege of Troy ; but the warriors all fought on foot 

 or in chariots. 



The chariots were simple in their structure, open at the back, and partly on 

 the sides ; and containing the driver in the front, and the warrior standing on a 

 platform, usually somewhat elevated. These vehicles seem to have been rarely 

 brought into collision with each other ; but they were driven rapidly over the 

 field, the warrior hurling his lances on either side, or alighting when he met 

 with a foe worthy of his attack. These chariots were not only contrived for 

 service, but were often most splendidly and expensively ornamented. They 

 were the prize of the conqueror. Sometimes they were drawn by three horses ; 

 but the third was a spare one, in case either of the others should be tired or 

 wounded. Some had four horses yoked abreast ; such was the chariot of Hector. 



The charioteer, although at the time inferior to, or under the command of 

 the warrior, was seldom or never a menial. He was often the intimate friend 

 of the warrior ; thus Nestor, and even Hector, are found acting as charioteers. 

 When not the personal friend of the warrior, he was usually a charioteer by 

 profession ; and drove where he was directed. 



Occasional mention is made of the currus falcati^ chariots with armed instru- 

 ments in the form of scythes, projecting from the axles of the wheels, by means 

 of which whole ranks might be mown down at once. They were confined, 

 however, to the more barbarous nations, and were used neither by the Greeks 

 nor the Romans. They were advantageous only on tolerably open and level 

 ground ; and it not unfrequently happened that, affrighted by the clamour of 

 the battle, or by wounds, the horses became ungovernable, and, turning on the 

 Tanks of their friends, threw them into complete disorder. They were on this 

 account laid aside, even by the barbarians themselves. 



In process of time, war -chariots of every kind fell into disuse, and the higher 

 classes of warriors were content to fight on horseback, where their personal 

 strength and courage might be as well displayed, and discipline could be better 

 preserved. 



Still, almost to the period of the Christian era, and long after that in many 

 countries, the use of the horse was confined to war, to the chase, and to public 

 pageants. The first employment of the Egyptian colonists, when they landed 

 in Thessaly, was to rid the forests of the wild cattle, and other dangerous ani- 

 mals, with which they were then peopled. In the central and southern parts 

 of Greece, the country was more open, and the wilder animals were scarcely 

 known ; but in Assyria and Persia, and every country in which the legitimate 

 prey of the hunter was found, the horse was employed in its pursuit. 



In process of time, in order to decide the comparative value of different horses, 

 or to gratify the vanity of their owners, and also to give more effect to certain 

 religious rites and public spectacles, horse-races were introduced. The most 

 celebrated of these exhibitions was that at Olympia, in Peloponnesus, held 



