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Bill Thayer |
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For a much longer general article on the Roman chariot, see
CURRUS.
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You might say that the cisium was the nearest Roman equivalent to our taxi. If so, by good fortune, we still have the remains of one of the world's grandest taxi stands: at Ostia, the port of Rome, where just inside the city gate coming from Rome, the guild of cisiarii had their own lavishly decorated baths, usually known by their Italian name, Terme dei Cisiari.
The whole set-up is quite logical: there must have been constant traffic between Rome and its port, with busy merchants in a hurry to get themselves or papers or money from one to the other, putting the drivers under a good deal of pressure; so right on the Via Ostiensis near the Porta Romana, a place to clean up and decant.
They seem to have been proud of their useful function. The most important remains we have of what must have been a rather splendid establishment are a large mosaic celebrating the joys of being a cisiarius. Here is a small detail of that mosaic; notice that we have not just one passenger but two:
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Page updated: 7 Aug 12