Sports (Hippodrome)
Sports in Byzantium were seen in a totally different way in comparison with the ancient greek
world: young people were not engaged systematically with sports, sports ceased to function as a
means of education, and the games turned into pure spectacle. In the 2nd-1st century BC athletes
were professionals, who demonstrated their skills in the games and were paid for it receiving a
salary. The games were often not fair: the umpires and judges could get bribed and set up the
games.
After Theodosius I established Christianity as the official religion of the Empire (381 AD), all
games that retained pagan elements such as Olympia (394 AD) were abolished. The Church
Fathers and the ecclesiastic writers condemned in their writings the nakedness of mimes, who
appeared naked on the scene making fun of the Christian ceremonies and the witnesses of faith.
However, the Fathers encouraged the care of the body for health reasons.
From the Justinian Code (529 AD) we learn that the permitted events were: wrestling, high jump,
long jump and javelin. Traditional sports venues, such as the stadium, the gymnasium and the
palaestra continued to be in use during the first Christian centuries, but when the economic
problems began to arise, from the 6th century onwards, these spaces were left without
maintenance, resulting in their abandonment and ruins.
Hippodrome
The hippodrome was a large open-air building for spectacles and chariot races, that resembled the
ancient greek stadium. Rome had the largest and oldest hippodrome, while these type of buildings
also existed in Constantinople and other big cities of the empire, such as Alexandria, Antioch,
Carthage and Thessaloniki. The chariot races were held at fixed dates, on Sundays and major
religious festivals. Races were also held on the occasion of various official celebrations, such as
the official nomination of a new king, the royal birthday, the palace weddings etc. The hippodrome
also gave people the opportunity to publicly express their views on the policy of the emperor: they
cheered him when there were happy or stated their dissatisfaction demanding satisfaction of their
demands.
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The Hippodrome of Constantinople was founded in the late 2nd century by Septimius Severus
imitating the one of Rome. It was restored by Constantine the Great in the early 4th century and it
operated until the 12th century. It had a horseshoe shape, with two long sides. The openings,
constructed on one end of the building, closed with doors with bars; these were the starting point
of the chariots. The opposite end had a closed shape and it was where the chariots turned. An
oblong obstacle, the Euripus, was placed in the middle of the track, dividing the space in two parts.
Euripus was surrounded by a ditch with water. Offerings and sculptures for timing and counting
laps were placed on the Euripus, while flexors, which were the boundaries that marked the turning
point for the chariots, were placed on its edges. The spectators sat at the stands on both sides of
the track as well as at the curve. Ancillary areas (stables, warehouses, storage of floats,
preparation areas, etc.) were placed under at the stands, while at the top, a corridor with columns
connected by arches offered a panoramic view of the city. In the middle of the long side of the
hippodrome the Seat was built, the special royal gallery from where the emperor, isolated from the
surrounding stands, used to watch the races. The Seat had banquet halls and resting rooms for
the emperor, the officials and the courtiers.
On the eve of the races a piece of cloth was hang at the gate of the hippodrome by the demes
announcing that the next day racings will be held. The final series of the chariot races was decided
with an officially draw taking place at the afternoon of the same day. Nobody worked on the days
of the races: shops, workshops, shipyards, everything was closed, and people of all classes, even
the clergy, went to the hippodrome. When the emperor appeared on his Seat after the cheering,
he raised his hand which was holding a white linen cloth; the falling of the cloth was the sing
permitting the beginning of the chariot races. Of the four chariots appearing on the field, one from
each deme, the winner was the chariot that first completed seven full rounds around the Euripus.
Eight chariot races were held during the day, four in the morning and four in the afternoon.
Meanwhile an intermission between the races gave to the spectators the opportunity to dine and
be entertained by groups of dancers, actors, mimes, acrobats and tamers of wild animals. These
spectacles intended to keep the public's interest and avoid potentially violent manifestations.
The four groups, the demes, taking part in the chariot races were sports clubs, with particularly
significant power and influence on the people of the capital. Their names, Greens, Blues, White
and Rousseau (red), derived from the distinctive color of clothing that their charioteer was wearing.
Demes had their own horses, chariots, facilities and personnel as veterinarians and notaries for
making records and keeping the accounts, people for keeping archives, poets for writing the
slogans of the races, musical instruments and musicians. Demes were responsible for the
acquisition and maintenance of horses, the payment of the charioteers and the distribution of
tickets. They also had a parallel social and political presence: their members helped each other,
assisted in the construction of public works or participated, if it was necessary, in the defence of
the capital.
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Other medieval events
Popular sport of the imperial court and the aristocracy was tzikanion, probably imported from
Persia. It was played in open court, where players on horseback were trying with long sticks to hit
a ball and score. Other popular games among the aristocracy of the period were tornemes and
tzostra imported from the West and played according to the rules of the knightly encounters. In
tzostra, a man with a helmet riding a horse and holding a shield and a spear was trying to throw
his opponent off the horse while in tornemes, a sport of similar philosophy, the encounter occurred
between two groups of horsemen confronting each other.
Glossary (2)
Church Fathers: a group of theologians and church authors that lived during the first five centuries
of Christianity and exerted great influence. Among them are: Tertullian, Basil of Caesarea,
Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, etc.
chartoularios: administrative official of the Byzantine Empire, responsible for the Public
Vestiarion, which included the offices of wardrobe, treasury and statistics.
Information Texts (5)
Theodosius I : Roman emperor from 379 to 395. Later also known as the Great, Theodosius was
the last ruler of the combined Eastern and Western Roman Empire. He himself divided the empire
to secure an imperial throne for each of his sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Having successfully
warded off barbarian invasions, he left the state to his successors with the same borders as those
laid down by Constantine the Great. He was an advocate of Christianity, which he helped to
spread throughout the Empire, circumventing the famous Edict of Milan. His strict religious policy
outlawed ancient cults. When Theodosius died in January 395, he bequeathed his empire to his
two sons: the eastern part to Arcadius and the western one to Honorius.
Justinian I: Byzantine Emperor (527-565), nephew and successor of Justin I. One of his first acts
was to reform the tax system and recode Theodosius’ laws. He was personally involved in
religious conflicts and convened the 5th Ecumenical Council (553). Justinian considered himself
primarily an orthodox emperor and took harsh measures against the remaining pagans. Many of
his political and fiscal actions provoked strong reactions on the part of the senate and the factions
and led to the Nika Riots. Justinian instigated numerous building projects, erecting approximately
30 churches in Constantinople, including the famous church of Agia Sophia. Regarding foreign
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policy, he successfully confronted the Persians and the Vandals in the East and focused on the
recovery of the West. This he temporarily achieved, but at such cost that the Empire was left
exhausted; the barbarians in the Balkans plundered the Greek peninsula as far as the Isthmus and
barbarian tribes settled at the borders. His military operations exhausted Byzantium financially and
militarily and had no real effect, as Italy and other areas he conquered were soon lost again. After
his death, the weakened empire had to face new attacks, culminating in the Arab conquests,
which negated the majority of Justinian’s conquests beyond the borders.
The city: Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was built on the site of the
ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn, the
Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade routes
linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople in 330 AD as a
city to rival Rome in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of space
and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new strong walls that protected
Constantinople until the end of the Byzantine Empire. The city was laid out after Rome. A main
road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden Gate. On this road was the Forum, a
circular plaza with a statue of Constantine mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings.
Theodosius I and Arcadius later built more forums decorated with their own statues. Following the
Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople with magnificent edifices, palaces,
baths and public buildings. This time also saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom),
the church which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine
period. During the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced major problems that threw it into
disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in 674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural
disasters (a powerful, destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited
building activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on strengthening the
city's fortifications. With the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the 9th to the 11th century,
Constantinople became the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were
Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as Jews, Armenians,
Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia.
Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with an emphasis on
establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages and schools.
Higher education flourished, thanks to the care of the state and the emergence of important
scholars. This renaissance lasted until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor
management set in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the
borders. The Crusaders left Constantinople entirely unscathed when first passing through, but in
the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those
inhabitants they did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael VIII
Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved unable to restore the
city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it was, the empire was incapable of checking
the advance of the Ottomans, and in 1453 Constantinople finally fell into their hands. The fall
signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual tradition remained
significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions of Crete and the Peloponnese, as
well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
The city: Around the top of the Thermaic Gulf there were several small ancient towns with intense
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commercial activity, which further expanded after the destruction of Olynthus by Philip in 348 BC.
According to Strabo, King Cassander founded a new city in 316 BC, naming it Thessaloniki after
his wife, sister to Alexander the Great. The few traces of Hellenistic buildings identified to date - an
important administrative building complex in Governing House Square, and the east part of the
wall - indicate that from the outset the city was intended to be a major political and military centre.
Thessaloniki’s geographic location at a key point on Macedonia’s land and sea routes was an
important factor in its growth down the centuries. From the mid 2nd century BC onwards it was the
most important military and trading post on the Via Egnatia, which crossed the Balkan Peninsula
from Durres to Byzantium (later Constantinople). Its port also began to flourish, lying as it did at
the end of the road leading from the Danube to the Aegean. The city thus became the crossroads
of the major trading routes heading East-West and North-South in the Roman Empire. Christian
history in Thessaloniki began with the arrival of Paul the Apostle, who preached in the city’s
synagogue in 51 or early 52 AD, though archaeological traces are thin on the ground until three
centuries later. The 1st century saw the foundation of the Roman forum, along with several public
buildings such as the library, the gymnasium and the Gallery of Figurines, which may have
belonged to the imperial bath complex. In 298-299 Caesar Galerius moved his headquarters from
Sirmium in Panonnia to Thessaloniki, adorning it with new monumental buildings such as the
palace, the hippodrome, the theatre-stadium and the Rotonda, which was originally a temple
modelled after the Pantheon in Rome. The famous Arch of Galerius, a dedicatory tetrapylon
known locally as the Kamara, was erected at this time, decorated with scenes from Galerius’s
victories against the Persians. In 322 Constantine the Great built the port at the southwest end of
the shore. Thessaloniki became an important ecclesiastical centre from the late 4th century
onwards. In 380, while staying in the city with his court in preparation for a campaign against the
Goths, Emperor Theodosius I was baptized by Bishop Acholius (or Ascholios) and issued a decree
forbidding sacrifices throughout the empire. Around the same time, the bishop of the city was
promoted to archbishop and vicar (representative) of the Pope of Rome, with jurisdiction over the
entire prefecture of East Illyria. The Christian churches built over the next two centuries changed
the city, as they were the tallest buildings and most important landmarks in the new town plan
developed on either side of the imperial road (the Via Regia), along the axis of what is now
Egnatia Street. The Episcopal Church was a large five-nave basilica, possibly dedicated to Agios
Markos; the Church of Agios Demetrios became the city’s major pilgrimage shrine. The large
public buildings of the past either fell into gradual decline and were abandoned (such as the forum,
which became a quarry for rocks and clay), or changed function (such as the Rotonda, which was
converted into a Christian church). Excavations in the city’s historic centre have brought to light
numerous early Christian buildings, the majority of which are houses. Most are urban villas in the
city’s north and east section, with a spacious vaulted banquet room (triclinium) and a peristyle
surrounded by rooms, baths, storage areas or cisterns. The cemeteries outside the city walls
contained graves of all types, from pit graves to cist graves and tiled versions etc. Most important
of all are the vaulted tombs, with fresco decorations in the interior. From the late 6th century
Thessaloniki was repeatedly raided by the Avaro- Slavs and suffered earthquakes which
destroyed many buildings. Combined with a general decline in the state economy, the raids and
earthquakes altered living conditions in the city. This change can be traced in the construction of
smaller, humbler houses with one or at most two rooms, erected on the ruins of old buildings.
Descriptions of the houses preserved in legal documents of the Mount Athos monasteries provide
an idea of life in the city; workshops and houses stood cheek by jowl, around shared courtyards
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with ovens and wells. House walls often incorporated earlier ruins and were constructed of various
materials - some were of plaster coated wooden boards. Small churches and chapels were
founded in the neighbourhoods on monastery-owned land. The Archbishop of Thessaloniki came
under the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the new Cathedral of Agia Sophia was built in the
late 8th century, decorated with mosaics sponsored by the emperor. The establishment of the
Theme of Thessaloniki in the early 9th century offered security to the inhabitants and stability in
the region. The markets filled with goods and the number of visitors grew. The city was proud of its
scholar Bishop Leo the Mathematician and of two brothers: Constantine, who became a monk
named Cyril, and Methodius. In 863 they travelled to Moravia, where they created the Old Slavonic
alphabet and translated the Bible, the Divine Liturgy and important canonical texts into the
language of the newly converted Slavs. Over the next centuries many more chapels and churches
were built, such as Agios Euthymios, next to Agios Demetrios, and Panagia Chalkeon (1028).
After Thessaloniki fell to the Saracens in 904, the next wave of destruction occurred when the city
was wrested by the Normans in 1185. The Crusaders made it the capital of the Frankish kingdom
from 1204 to 1224. From then onwards Thessaloniki frequently changed hands between Greek
rulers who laid claim to the imperial throne, until 1246, when it was annexed to the Empire of
Nicaea along with the rest of Macedonia. In 1303 Irene-Yolanda of Montferrat, second wife of
Andronicus II, came to the city and remained there until her death in 1317, while in 1320 Emperor
Michael IX died in the city. Important monuments of Paleologan art and architecture still survive
from the first third of the 14th century, such as the churches of Agioi Apostoloi, Agia Aikaterini,
Agios Panteleimon, Agios Nikolaos Orfanos and the Taxiarches (Archangels). Art production
continued over the subsequent turbulent decades, though on various scales: the Church of Christ
the Saviour, built after 1340, is the smallest church in the city, while that dedicated to the Prophet
Elijah, built after 1360, is one of the largest. Several vacant plots within the city walls were turned
into vegetable gardens or cemeteries. During the conflict between Andronicus II and his grandson
Andronicus III, the Serbs and Ottomans became involved in the internal affairs of the empire as
allies for one or other party vying for the throne, drawing ever closer to Thessaloniki and its
surroundings. From 1342 until 1349 the city was tormented by discord between the Zealots and
the Hesychasts. In 1387, following a four-year siege, the city was surrendered to the Ottomans. In
1403 it returned to Byzantine rule under Manuel II. In 1412 and 1416 it was besieged by Musa,
one of the aspiring successors of Sultan Bayezid. Fearing a new conquest by the Ottomans, in
1423 Andronicus Palaeologus handed the city over to the Venetians, on conditions that were
never honoured. Thessaloniki finally fell to the Ottomans in 1430.
Constantine the Great : Roman emperor from 324 to 337. Born in Naissus c. 272 to Roman
Caesar Constantius I Chlorus and Helena. Constantine received military training, took part in
campaigns alongside his father and attained the rank of tribuno, head of the imperial bodyguards.
After a series of conflicts in which he eliminated all his opponents, he ascended the throne in 324.
As sole emperor, Constantine reorganized the administrative and military system, changed the
currency and founded Constantinople, which he made new capital of the empire (330). A
perceptive man who realized the growing power of the new religion, he lent subtle support to
Christianity, and signed the Edict of Milan in 313, establishing the principles of religious tolerance.
He took an active part in religious debates and convened the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea,
which proved crucial to the development of the Christian Church. Through these actions, and
above all by supporting Christians and transferring the capital to Constantinople, he was in
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essence responsible for shaping the future course of the Byzantine Empire.
Bibliography (5)
1. Γιάτσης Σ., Το θέαμα του ιπποδρόμου και οι σωματικές ασκήσεις στο Βυζάντιο, Thessaloniki,
1988
2. Ιωαννίδης, Α., Ο βυζαντινός ιππόδρομος στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, 1982
3. Κουκουλές Φ., Βυζαντινών Βίος και Πολιτισμός, Παπαζήση, Athens, 1954
4. Ραμπώ, Α., Σπουδές πάνω στη Βυζαντινή ιστορία, Στοχαστής, Athens, 2007
5. ‘ Η κοινωνική ζωή στο Βυζάντιο’ in Ψηφίδες του Βυζαντίου
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