OF HORSEMANSHIP. 57 



The fignal for flarting was probably the fame as in 

 the chariot- races, and was given by the founding of 

 a trumpet. The fpace of ground round which the 

 horfes were to run, and the number of times which 

 they were required to run round it, will make their 

 courfe, or heat, to amount to about four miles, or fome- 

 what more. 



Although the candidate-horfes were ranged into 

 claffes oi full ?ind under- aged, yet it is not known, what 

 was the precife term which qualified them to be rated 

 as full or under-aged. Neither can it be afcertained 

 how many were permitted to run at the fame time, at 

 what fize they were required to be, or of what weight 

 the jockeys or riders. Of thcfe particulars the reader 

 cannot be informed ; but as the riders were obliged to 

 undergo preparatory trials for the fpace of thirty days, 

 it muft be concluded, that there were certain laws and 

 conditions appointed by the judges, to which they were 

 obliged to fubmit. 



This is the fum of what is recorded concerning the 

 celebrated races of ancient Greece, as far as my fub- 

 jedl leads me to confider them : in doing which, I 

 have confined myfelf to thofe of Olympia only, with- 

 out even pafting a glance upon any other, ' looking 

 upon them as comprehended in the general view, un- 

 der which the Olympian are prefented ; which, as 

 Pindar fays, were as much fuperiour to the reft which 

 Greece exhibited, as water is among the elements, or 

 gold compared with other metals. 



Vol. I. I And 



