The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-08-22

/ tyy'iouf, thouBft Some etiipes q far greater
number were exhibited, for Suetonius
tells as5 that the Emperor Domiitial,,e prc.
sented a!hundred matches in one si.lay,
The time when the races were To i,e.
gin was aDciently given by iso,,nd Eiof
trumpet. Both the custom Of matches
and that OF snmfnoriing the horses e, q
starting place by a signal are stilll pr,ic4
ltised IN England. The horses beibs
lnpiat the time, ready for starting. the g
signal was given by d mappIa, OF inaplkiin.
hung out at the Proctor s tent. OF iif,e.
chief magistrates seat; hence Juyenal
calls them Megalensian games =. Ne ga
liaca Spectacula Mapp:e. The origin rid
of this custom was that when Nero Was. Vas
once at dinner, and tlle people maxine
a great noise desiring chat the su1a} snort +
might begin, the Emperor threw the
napkin he had in Ills hand out of tho
window as a token that had granted
their request ". sissE ftfls q Sss3''53s
e Az these races, also, the Romans,
rode in different colors, aYticnlarlv the,
companies Of charioteers, TO digtingu;sb
themselves. These were generally
four, viz; Prasina (green,5 russata
(rcd,) alba or a1bato Twhite) and the
vineta Csky or sea color; but the green
was generally the fayori,e, espaecihlly
under Caligula, Nero; and the follow.
ing Emperor A. D. 81, and died A.,
d. 90, added two more colors, viz: the.
golden or yellow, and the purple (aaiirea
etpurperea3 } but these were soon laid
aside again by the following Emperors.
The victors in the sports we're honr,o,,r,cd.
with garlands, coronets, and other orn,a-
ments after the Greek manner, and
very often with considerable rewards.
Hence Juvenal says: fiF. .Sls25
.Iiihc centnn,. pat:!:noniu causidisoniuun4,l
Safarte all;a solunitussa,i pone iaeertmH7'g
Thc peopfelof Rome were. 40 partial
to theraces atthe festivities Of Aiithras.
and also afterwards in compliment to-
the Emperors who encouraged these
sports, that there wasa an Ippodruna ON
purpose for these races in most cities I'M
the empires to which the people thu ong--
cd i'll vast numbers.asTo show how
much the1populacekwere interested in
these games. Juvenal sums up their
wants in two words, Panem ct iscenses
(bread and the games )--thatis to sar
the bread distributed by the Emperors
and the games in the circus. The same
poet also describes, in his seventh satire,
the extraordinary fondness Of the Ro-
mans for these races. Congreye has
thus translated the passage:
Srrhis dsynl Rome Qf.I'may be allowed.
Nithoutrff-nre tn such n nun,rrers csuvd,
5 To say all Ramel will in the circus sweat,
Eci,oes already 10 their shouts repent.
Melhinss j hear tho cry, away, away,
The green has won the iionur of. the day
. !si.oud these sports be ,bni one day
iorborno
i Rome would. in tears, her lored diversion
- mourn fss YF SIS ftse4, 53s5.Fg,
Such was the fondness too, for fayo-
rite horses, that Montfaucon tells.us..
and gives an engraving of a drawing
from an urn which has two inscyiptions
upon it, the uppermost regards the hor-
ses, the lower the person inferred there.
in. Over the first horse, was an in.
scription, the meaning of which is-lsthat.
this was in memory of the horse Aauilo.
begat by Aquillo, who. had conquered
127 Zines, Won the second prizes sss,
times and the third prizes 81 tines
The inscription over the second horseis
thus rendered into English. sThat
Hirpinus, the grandson Of Aauilo, con.
quored 140 times, won the second prizes
CT times, ard the third So times.'
Hence we see they kept a regular pedi-
gree of their horses as at the present
time. tits also observable, that the in
scriptions for the horses are placed
above that Of his owner OIL. rider, it be-,
ing usual to pay more honour to their
race horses than 10 tho men who ride
or drove them; for they erected n,enu.
mcnts to perpetnate their memory, as
may be secn III Hlian, Pliny, and 9th.
ess; md in SPARTAN we find TINT He.
driar was SO fond ofhis horses and DOES
that he built sepnlchrcs for them, and
there is yet remaining an epitaph which
Salmanasius has given, which begins
thus-' Berysthenes, called Alaaas.
from the countryhe was .of, the EItnper
or's ehorse, SC. The epitapll under
the horse was made byz order of
Claudia Helice for hsr husband I4ncins
Avitus Dionisins. There are abund.
ance Of proofs of these races from 10.
man coins; upon many of Aurelian's
coins we find, Soil Miret' and sOrens