"I am Scorpus, the glory of the clamorous circus, your applause, Rome, and brief darling." Martial, Epigrams (X.53)
Scorpus was not yet twenty-seven when he died. Monuments and inscriptions record the lives, some very short, of other chariot drivers: Fuscus of the Greens, the first to win in his very first race, who died at age twenty-four; Crescens, who died at age twenty-two, having raced since he was thirteen; Polyneices, who died when he was twenty-nine, who raced for each of the four factions.
This statue of a victorious charioteer is in the Sala Della Biga (Vatican Museums), which unfortunately has been closed due to damage caused by visitors. The picture was taken by a sympathetic guard as a much appreciated favor. Notice the knife which was used to cut away the reins in case of an accident.
This statue of a charioteer holding the palm of victory is in the Sala Della Biga (Vatican Museums), which unfortunately has been closed due to damage caused by visitors. The picture was taken by a sympathetic guard as a much appreciated favor. Notice the knife which was used to cut away the reins in case of an accident.
References: Martial: Epigrams (1993) translated by D. R. Shackleton Bailey (Loeb Classical Library).
