Index | Circus Maximus


Circus Maximus: Anciently occupied the hollow between the Palatine and the Aventine hills. According to tradition, the site was already used for athletic exhibitions and provided with wooden seats under Tarquinius Priscus. Under Caesar and Augustus it was first largely built of stone, and splendidly adorned. It was rebuilt by Nero, and again by Domitian and Trajan, and in its final form is said to have accommodated 385,000 spectators.