X
RACES AND RIDING
CASE 5
In the Homeric period cavalry was not employed in battle, but princes and nobles drove about the field in chariots from which they descended to fight. The bodies of these chariots were just large enough for the warrior and his driver to stand side by side, since lightness and quickness of movement were essential. The chariot in the Third Room ([fig. 120]) is of the type in use among the Etruscans; the Greek type in the earliest pictures which we have is more open and slightly different in shape. An excellent representation of the Greek chariot may be seen on a large amphora on Pedestal R 3 in the same room, and this drawing also shows the light harness in use and the method of arranging it. War-chariots were used on occasion for racing, as at the funeral games of Patroklos in the Twenty-third Book of the Iliad; and at a later period, when nobles no longer rode to battle and armies of citizens were the rule in Greece, the chariot remained as a racing vehicle. The principal feature of the Olympic games from the year 680 B.C. was the chariot race for four horses, and a victory in this event brought much-coveted renown to the owner of the horses and his city. The Greeks of Italy and Sicily were devoted to this sport, their interest being reflected in their coin types, of which the finest are the Syracusan ([fig. 121]). Some examples will be found in the Ward Collection in the Gold Room.
FIG. 120. BRONZE CHARIOT
FIG. 121. RACING CARS ON SYRACUSAN COINS
