{  
 title : "##charioter_shool##"
 sound : "fanfare"
 text  : "Chariot racing was the most popular activity in the @hippodromes& (named from the Greek 'hippus', meaning 'horse', and 'dromos', meaning 'racetrack'). The Romans raised this ancient Greek Olympic event to fanatical popularity. Romans kept 14,000 horses for chariot races and gave them the best possible care. The Emperor's Praetorian Guard had orders to refrain from blowing their trumpets before a race, to avoid disturbing the horses. The Emperor's palace, behind the Circus Maximus (the name of Rome's great hippodrome is Latin for 'Greatest Circle'), had a box where he could sit without leaving the palace grounds, and the Emperor attended most of the races. Citizens wore their finest gowns and jewelry, and even the horses sometimes had pearls woven into their manes.\n A typical day at the hippodrome featured 12 races, each with four chariots. Racers belonged to one of four permanent teams - the Reds, Greens, Blues and Whites. Racing fans were fiercely loyal to their teams and wagered huge sums of money. Each chariot was pulled by two or four horses. Races proceeded anticlockwise around the ring seven times at maximum speed, although horses were trained to slow down on the inside turns to avoid crashing or being hit by other chariots. Individual charioteers wore a coat with their team's color, a leather helmet, rib protection and leather leggings. They carried a whip and a dagger to cut themselves free of their reins in case of a crash. Accidents were frequent and drivers wrapped the reins around their waist to provide better leverage when leaning into turns; charioteers who moved too slowly were trampled to death.\n Chariot drivers were highly trained, and could achieve great fame and wealth with a successful career. One Gaius Apuleis made almost 36 million sesterces in his 24-year career. Prizes sometimes included houses or farms. The Flavian emperors expanded chariot racing to 100 heats a day as part of their strategy to placate the citizenry. Bookmakers released carrier pigeons after each race to get results to off-track bettors."
 uri : {
  "amphitheaters" : "amphitheater"
	"hippodromes" : "hippodrome"
	}
}
