5. circum: the Circus Maximus. It was in a valley between the Palatine and Aventine Hills. Here the Roman games were held. At first the spectators sat on the hill side and watched the games being celebrated in the valley beneath them. Tarquinius is said to have been the first to introduce seats. In the time of Caesar the circus was 1800 feet long and 300 feet wide, and capable of seating 180,000 people. It was enlarged many times, until in the fourth century it was capable of seating 385,000 people.
lūdōs Rōmānōs: the Lūdī Rōmānī, consisting of horse and chariot races, were the oldest games, and were celebrated originally in honor of Jupiter by victorious generals as a part of a triumph. At first they lasted only one day, but the time was gradually increased until in the age of Cicero they lasted fifteen days, September 4-19.
6. ad nostram memoriam: ‘to our time.’
7. vīcit: emphatic position.
nōn parum ＝ māgnum: ‘a large part’; cf. nōn compāruisset, Ch. 2.
8. prīmus … intrāvit: ‘and he was the first to enter the city celebrating a triumph.’ A triumph was a solemn procession in which a victorious general entered the city in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was preceded by the captives and spoils taken in war, and was followed by his troops; and, after passing in state along the Via Sacra, ascended the Capitol to offer sacrifice in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. The following conditions had to be complied with: (a) The general must have been dictator, consul, or praetor. (b) He must have actually commanded in the battle and commenced it, himself taking the auspices. (c) The battle must have been decisive and ended the campaign. (d) The foes must have been foreigners, and at least 5000 of them must have been slain.
9. mūrōs fēcit: he began to surround the city with a stone wall, a work his successor, Servius Tullius, completed.
cloācās: the Cloaca Maxima is a semicircular tunnel, 14 feet wide, beneath the city. A part of this sewer, about 1020 feet, is still in existence, and after a lapse of 2500 years goes on fulfilling its original purpose. Its opening into the Tiber near the Temple of Hercules in the Forum Boarium is still in a good state of preservation.
Capitōlium: the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. Its foundations were laid by Tarquinius Priscus. Its walls were raised by his successor Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus completed it, although it was not consecrated until the third year after the expulsion of the kings. It consisted of three parts, a nave sacred to Jupiter, and two wings, the right sacred to Minerva and the left to Juno. The magnificence and richness of this temple are almost incredible. It was burned in the time of Sulla, who rebuilt it. After being destroyed several times it was raised for the last time by Domitian, who made it more grand and magnificent than had any of his predecessors.
10. per … fīliōs: Eutropius occasionally substitutes per with the Accusative for the Ablative or Dative of agent; cf. per eum multa ā cōnsulibus prōsperē gesta sunt, Bk. IV, 10.