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Rome's Chariot Superstar
Overview
In 90 A.D., ancient Rome played host to a sporting spectacle that attracted crowds three times the size of the Colosseum?s gladiator games: chariot racing. Every week, 150,000 fans packed the massive Circus Maximus, not just to cheer on the speed, fury, and danger of the races, but to witness the champion charioteer, Flavius Scorpus. Examine his improbable rise from young slave to arguably the most successful competitor in the sport?s history.
Status
Ended
Network
Smithsonian Channel
Seasons & Episodes
Season 1
Episodes
Slave to Star
Before Flavius Scorpus became a superstar charioteer in ancient Rome's most popular sport, he was a young slave who dreamed of freedom. Explore the early years of Scorpus' life to see how he escaped his circumstances to become history's most talented and successful charioteer. We rebuild and test the chariots he rode, investigate how the races really worked, and then hit the track for a white-knuckled look at the violent and hugely competitive races.
Circus Maximus
Chariot racer Flavius Scorpus has won hundreds of races while watching his friends and rivals die on the track. Now, the stakes, and the risks, are about to escalate as the charioteer performs on the greatest racetrack in the Roman Empire: Circus Maximus. Follow Scorpus as he out-muscles vicious competition, earns a fortune, and becomes a hero to hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. Recent excavations and exhilarating recreations bring the races, and the era, vividly back to life.
