35 



which the chariots were necessitated to make, driving to an inch at full 

 speed, put the skill of the drivers, and the docility and suppleness of the 

 Horses, to tiie severest test; and fatal accidents, to Hfe and hmhs of both 

 men and Horses, too often happened from the rush together at the turn, 

 and contention for the nearest approach to the pillar, against which 

 the chariot of a too adventurous or intemperate driver, was some- 

 times dashed to pieces ! 



The ground on which both Horse and chariot races were exhibited', 

 was denominated by the Greeks Hippodrome, or the Horse-course. 

 That of Olympia, was circular, surrounded by a wall, upon the bank 

 of the river Alpheus; the circuit, in one part, included a moderate hill, 

 and the whole space was adorned with temples and various ornamental 

 structures. This stadium, or ground, was divided into two parts, the 

 first of which, resembling the prow, or head of a ship, and styled the 

 harrier, contained stands for the Horses and chariots, where they were 

 matched and prepared for the course. In the inner partition was the 

 course over which the Horses ran, and the ground Avas considerably 

 irregular and uneven. 



The distance ran by the Horses, appears to have been upwards of 

 four miles to a heat, which was either completed by their running seve- 

 ral times round the course, or by the goal being placed at two miles 

 distance ; since the course is not described as circular, but in a straight 

 line, at the extremity of which stood a pillar, as a meta or goal ; around 

 this pillar the candidates on horseback or in chariots, were obliged to 

 turn, running back again to the point from which they had started. 

 The driver or rider Avho could make the sharpest turn, or, in the 

 language of the turf, keep the inner ground, approaching the nearest 

 possible to the pillar, without being wrecked upon it, consequently lost 

 the least space and time. To this perilous turn Horace alludes, in his 

 Metaque fervidis evitata rotis. But their trials of skill and superadded 

 risks did not end here, for beyond the pillar, another presented itself: 

 this was the terrific, scare-crow figure of the deity Taraxipptis, the 

 alarmer of Horses, placed full in sight of the racers as they passed;, 

 and not seldom it happened, that some of them, forgetful or imperfectly 

 trained, took fright in spite of the utmost skill and power of their 



F 2. jockies, 



