=325. Popular Charioteers (_Aurigæ_): the Great Racing Factions.=--It is all very well to write this, but neither Pliny nor anybody else can prevent the greatest charioteers from enjoying temporary incomes surpassing those of a majority of the senators. Many of these lucky _aurigæ_ are Moors, dark-skinned, hawk-eyed rascals, with sharp white teeth and sinews of iron; but a considerable sprinkling of them are Spaniards, as was that Diocles, whose heirs proudly recorded on his tombstone that in a professional career of twenty-four years he drove in 4257 races, and conquered 1462 times, with total winnings of nearly 36 million sesterces (say $1,440,000). He, however, was not the most fortunate--there are drivers on record who boast of at least 3500 victories, though, of course, many of these were probably won in the provinces. No sport will ever be more thoroughly standardized and professionalized than that of the chariot races in Rome. When a magistrate or other seeker for applause decides to give a series of contests he appeals to the great circus syndicates (“factions”). There were originally only the Red and the White; then the Blue and the Green have been added, and finally the Purple and the Gold. Each faction maintains huge racing stables with expert drivers, grooms, trainers, and veterinaries, as well as many superb “fours” of horses. The donor of the games has to arrange with these organizations how many contests he will require, each “faction” entering a chariot in each race. Ten races a day is the minimum; twenty-four the ordinary maximum. After the contracts have been signed and the programs posted all over the city, anxious days follow for all concerned to insure an honest race. The wagering is always so general and so reckless, that infinite precautions are needful to keep the horses from being drugged, the drivers from being bribed to throw the contests, or (if they prove incorruptible) the charioteers from being poisoned enough to make them lose. The tricks of the race-track will simply endure across the ages. =326. The Circus Maximus.=--After such preparations and excitement no wonder that people complain that the Circus Maximus is sometimes too small. This long narrow depression between the Palatine and Aventine has provided an excellent natural race course since the days of the Tarquins. At first the slopes of the hills were simply lined with crude wooden benches. By Julius Cæsar’s time many of these benches were made of stone, and in all could seat at least 150,000 spectators. After a great fire in 36 A.D. Claudius presently rebuilt the whole structure so there are now seats, partly of marble and partly of wood; and Trajan added still more tiers and more marble ornaments. At present the Circus Maximus covers the enormous area of 600 by 2000 feet, and it is declared that there is at least standing room, if not seats, for 385,000 spectators--a good fraction of the entire adult population of Rome.[207]