In the Circus Maximus, there were 12 starting gates, and the chariots would come out

with the drivers wrapped up in leather and with their team colors on.

Generally, the format would be to have 12 chariots racing in teams. There were four
teams, often called factions, which were identified by their colors: blue, green, red, and
white.

They would do the circuit of the circus seven times, seven laps being required to
complete the race.

The race was made up of seven laps (8.4 kilometres) and usually lasted about fifteen
minutes. Each lap was marked by the lowering of an egg from a platform.

Unlike the heavy chariots used in most Hollywood depictions, (including all the Ben Hur films), racing
chariots were very light and small. They needed to go as fast as possible, and were probably made of wicker
and leather. Driving one would have been like surfing a basket on wheels.

Most chariots were pulled by ungelded stallions; two for a biga (2-horse chariot) and four for a quadriga (4-
horse chariot). Roman racing chariots, which were adapted from the ancient Greek and Etruscan chariots,
were light-weight affairs, consisting of a slight wooden frame bound with strips of leather or linen, and
small wheels with 6-8 spokes. As many as 12 teams ran in each race. There were four chariot factions in
Rome: the Veneti (Blues), the Prasini (Greens), the Russati (Reds) and the Albati (Whites).

Roman and Etruscan aurigae wore a short chiton, a protective skull cap or leather helm, and a wide leather
belt composed of many straps. They also wore linen or leather wrappings on their legs and carried a curved
dagger on them. A charioteer would tie the leather reins around his waist and put a sharp knife in his belt. If
he was thrown from his chariot he would try to cut himself free as he was being dragged along. Whenever a
chariot crashed, the crowd would yell out 'naufragium!' which means 'shipwreck!' in Latin.

Chariots completed seven circuits, marked by dolphins (sacred to Neptune, god of the sea and also of
horses) and eggs (sacred to Castor and Pollux).

Charioteers wore leather helmets and jerkins in green, blue, red or white: the colours of their factions.

The Circus represented the Cosmos and every aspect of the hippodrome was symbolic:

The obelisk on the spina (central island) represented the sun.

The water of the euripus (canal in the spina) represented the sea.
The race track itself represented the earth around the sea.
The 4 faction colours represented the four seasons:
(red = summer, blue = autumn, white = winter, green = spring)
The 7 laps the horses had to run represented the days of the week.
The 12 carceres (starting gates) represented the months of the year.
The 24 races held per day represented the hours of the day.

The Circus Maximus certainly owns its name, for by the time of Emperor Trajan, it was about 550-
580 meters long, and about 80-125 meters wide. At the start of the track, there were twelve
carceres, starting boxes, with ostia (gates) from which the teams would shoot out and charge the
first 170 meters toward the central spina, which divided the course and which is what the teams
raced around. The spina was 335 meters in length and 8 meters wide, and at each end of it were
metae, the turning posts which the riders sped around. The spina was also ornamented with
statues of the gods, towering palms, and obelisks from Rome’s campaigns in Egypt.

There were also large frames on the spina with mechanisms with suspended dolphins and eggs to
count down the laps for a race. The total distance of a race of seven laps was about 5,200 meters
over the packed earth and gravel track.