Circus shows only lasted for one day.
Crowds were from 250,000 to 300,000 people.
Men, women, children and slaves, (Who were only allowed at the first entrance) came to this event.
The circus maximus was in a hippodrome (horse race track) shape.
There were stone markers at the turning point of each side, where chariots rode around them.
There were 14 laps in a race.
There were usually four teams; green, red, white, blue. Domitian added a gold and a purple team. After 300, there were only the blues and greens. The blue stable was the Conservative Party and the green stable was the Popular Party in Constantinople.
People bet on the teams.
To start the race, the starter would stand on a praetor’s box and threw down a handkerchief.
After the race was over, there would only be a short period of time before the next race.
Daily Life in Ancient Rome. Florence Dupont. Blackwell Publisher. ©1994