Scorpus

Scorpus was a famous charioteer in Roman times who lived at the end of the 1st century AD. Scorpus rode for the Green faction during his lifetime and accumulated 2,048 victories. As one of the most famous drivers in Roman history, Scorpus earned extraordinarily large amounts of money; his income surpassing that of professional Roman sponsors. Unfortunately, Scorpus is also renowned for his early and tragic death, occurring when he was only 27 years old. Martial, a Roman historian, wrote in his Epigrams: 10.50Fact|date=March 2008 "Ah villainy! Scorpus, cheated of your first youth, you die. So soon you yoke black horses," and 10.53 "I am Scorpus, the glory of the clamorous circus, your applause, Rome, and brief darling. Envious Lachesis snatched me away ere my thirtieth year, but, counting my victories, believed me an old man."

Scorpus was beloved by nearly all Romans who entered the Circus Maximus, the most famous site of Roman chariot racing, but even more so by the avid supporters of the Green ("prasina") faction.

Although it is unknown exactly how Scorpus died, it is most likely to have been in one of the many dangerous crashes that occurred during chariot races. The Romans called these "naufragia" or literally translated, “shipwrecks”. Charioteers wrapped the reins around their bodies in order to use their body weight to better control the horses. While this is extremely dangerous, the drivers carried daggers that, in the case of an accident, would be used to cut themselves free. However, often after a crash the charioteers were unable to release themselves in time. Crashes often occurred near the turning posts, as shown in a circus relief in the Pergamon Museum in BerlinFact|date=March 2008 , which shows a fallen charioteer being trampled by another team.

External links

* [http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/scorpus2.html Scorpus information]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/scorpus.html University of Chicago information]