Among the Romans, a circus was a nearly rectangular building without a roof, in which public chariot-races and exhibitions of pugilism and wrestling, etc, took place. It was rectangular, except that one short side formed a half-circle; and on both sides, and on the semicircular end, were the seats of the spectators, rising gradually one above another, like steps. On the outside the circus was surrounded with colonnades, galleries, shops, and public places. The largest of these buildings in Rome was the Circus Maximus, capable, according to Pliny, of containing 260,000, and according to Aurelius Victor, 385,000 spectators. At present, however, but few vestiges of it remain, and the circus of Caracalla is in the best preservation. The games celebrated in these structures were known collectively by the name of ludi circenses, circensian games, or games of the circus, which under the emperors attained the greatest magnificence.
The principal games of the circus were the ludi Romani or magni (Roman or Great Games), which were celebrated from the 4th to the 14th of September, in honour of the great gods, so called. The passion of the common or poorer class of people for these shows appears from the cry with which they addressed their rulers - panem et circenses (bread and the games!). The festival was opened by a splendid procession, or pompa, in which the magistrates, senate, priests, augurs, vestal virgins, and athletes, took part, carrying with them the images of the great gods, the Sibylline books, and sometimes the spoils of war. On reaching the circus the procession went round once in a circle, the sacrifices were performed, the spectators took their places, and the games commenced. These were:
1. Races with horses and chariots, in which men of the highest rank engaged.
2. The gymnastic contests.
3. The Trojan games, prize contests on horseback, revived by Julius Caesar.
4. The combats with wild beasts, in which beasts fought with beasts or with men (criminals or volunteers).
5. Representations of naval engagements (naumachioe), for which purpose the circus could be laid under water.
The expense of these games was often immense. Pompey, in his second consulship, brought forward 500 lions at one combat of wild beasts, which, with eighteen elephants, were slain in five days.
The modern circus is a place where horses and wild animals are trained to perform antics, and where exhibitions of acrobats and various pageantries, including a large amount of buffoonery, are presented. Research Circus
A clown is the buffoon or practical jester in pantomime and circus performances. On the old English stage the clown was the privileged laughter-provoker, who, without taking any part in the dramatic development of the piece represented, carried on his improvised jokes and tricks with the actors, often indeed addressing himself directly to tho audience instead of confining himself to what was going on on the stage. In Shakespeare's dramas, a distinct part is assigned to the clown, who no longer appears as an extempore jester, although the part he plays is to a certain extent in keeping with his traditional functions. He is now confined to the pantomime and the circus, in the former of which he plays a part allied to that of the French Pierrot. Research Clown
Contorniati were ancient medals or medallions in bronze, having a curved furrow (contorno) on each side. They were supposed to have been struck in the days of Constantine the Great and his successors, and to have formed tickets of admission to the public games of the circus of Rome and of Constantinople. Research Contorniati
The Surrey Theatre was a place of amusement in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London. It was opened in 1782 as 'The Royal Circus' and was partly rebuilt in 1799 before burning down in 1805. In 1806 it was reopened after being rebuilt and became a home of melodrama and pantomime before becoming a music-hall and lastly a cinema in 1920 before being demolished in 1934. Research Surrey Theatre
The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is an American medium-large hawk of the order Falconiformes, family Accipitridae, with long wings, and a floppy flight low over ground with the wings help up at an angle. It has a white rump patch and banded tail. The male is grey the female brown and larger than the male. It flushes its prey from hiding with its low swooping flight. Research Northern Harrier
Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus originally called Caius Octavius,was a Roman Emperor. He was born in63 BC and died in 14 AD. He was the son of Caius Octavius and Atia, a daughter of Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. Octavius was at Apollonia, in Epirus, when he received news of the death of his uncle in 44 BC, who had previously adopted him as his son. He returned to Rome to claim Caesar's property and avenge his death, and now took, according to usage, his uncle's name with the surname Octavianus. He was aiming secretly at the chief power, but at first he joined the republican party, and assisted at the defeat of Antony at Mutina. He got himself chosen consul in 43. Soon after the first triumvirate was formed between him and Antony and Lepidus, and this was followed by the conscription and assassination of three hundred senators and two thousand knights of the party opposed to the triumvirate. Next year Octavianus and Antony defeated the republican army under Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.
The victors now divided the Roman world between them, Octavianus getting the West, Antony the East, and Lepidus Africa. Sextus Pompeius, who had made himself formidable at sea, had now to be put down; and Lepidus, who had hitherto retained an appearance of power, was deprived of all authority in 36 BC and retired into private life. Antony and Octavianus now shared the empire between them; but while the former, in the East, gave himself up to a life of luxury, and alienated the Romans by his alliance with Cleopatra and his adoption of Oriental manners, Octavianus skilfully cultivated popularity, and soon declared war ostensibly against the Queen of Egypt. The naval victory of Actium, in which the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated, made Octavianus master of the world, in 31 BC. He returned to Rome in 29 BC, celebrated a splendid triumph, and caused the temple of Janus to be closed in token of peace being restored. Gradually all the highest offices of state, civil and religious, were united in his hands, and the new title of Augustus was also assumed by him, being formally conferred by the senate in 27 BC. Great as was the power given to him, he exercised it with wise moderation, and kept up the show of a republican form of government.
Under him successful wars were carried on in Africa and Asia (against the Parthians), in Gaul and Spain, in Pannonia, Dalmatia, etc; but the defeat of Varus by the Germans under Armmius with the loss of three legions, in 9 AD, was a great blow to him in his old age. Many useful decrees proceeded from him, and various abuses were abolished. He gave a new form to the senate, employed himself in improving the morals of the people, enacted laws for the suppression of luxury, introduced discipline into the armies, and order into the games of the circus. He adorned Rome in such a manner that it was said, ' He found it of brick, and left it of marble.' The people erected altars to him, and, by a decree of the senate, the month Sextilis was called Augustus (our August). He was a patron of literature; Virgil and Horace were befriended by him, and their works and those of their contemporaries are the glory of the Augustan Age. His death, which took place at Nola, plunged the empire into the greatest grief. He was thrice married, but had no son, and was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, whose mother Livia he had married after prevailing on her husband to divorce her. Research Augustus
Caius Flaminius was a Roman general. He was tribune in 232 BC, praetor in 227, consul in 223, censor in 220, and again consul in 217. He had a triumph for defeating the Insubrian Gauls; and during his second consulship he constructed the Flaminian Way and built a circus. In 217 he was sent against Hannibal into Etruria, and was defeated and killed in the battle of Lake Thrasymenus . Research Caius Flaminius
Commodus (Aelius Aurelius) was a Roman emperor. The son of Marcus Aurelius, hw was born in 161 and died in 192. He succeeded his father in 180, and soon revealed proof of his cruel and voluptuous character. He used to fight in the circus like a gladiator, and caused himself to be worshipped as Hercules. One of his concubines, whom he intended to put to death, administered poison to him; but it operated too slowly, and he was strangled by a favourite athlete. Research Commudus
Abbreviations
Research Auguste
