(1) Often reinforced by our contemporary movie makers, the image of the chariot epitomises velocity, volatility and power. However, it is an image that was already conveyed by Virgil:
saevit tōtō Mars impius orbe, | Wicked Mars
rages throughout the whole world,
ut cum carceribus [i] sēsē effūdēre quadrīgae,
| just as when four-horse chariots
have burst forth from the barriers,
addunt in spatia [ii], et frūstrā retinācula tendēns | they quicken their
pace lap after lap, and, tugging vainly at the harnesses,
fertur equīs aurīga neque audit currus
habēnās | the charioteer is swept along by the horses, nor does the chariot
heed the reins.
currus, -ūs [4/m]: chariot
quadrīga, -ae [1/f]: chariot pulled by
four horses
aurīga, -ae [1/m]: charioteer
Virgil associates the chariots and charioteers with the Circus
Maximus:
[i] carcerēs: the enclosed starting stalls at the wide
straight end of the Circus Maximus where each chariot team was held prior to
the commencement of the race
[ii] spatium, -ī [2/n]: (here) one lap of a race; addunt in
spatia is a compressed expression which would normally require a direct
object such as gradum (pace) i.e. the horses are adding to the pace with
every lap they run.
Note: alternating between ‘galloping’ dactyls [ — ◡ ◡ ] and ‘straining’ spondees [ — — ], the rhythm of
the words in the final line literally mimics the erratic, terrifying speed of
the runaway vehicle which the charioteer is attempting to control:
fēr-tŭr ĕ- | quīs āu- | rī-gă nĕ- | qu'āu-dīt | cūr-rŭs
hă- | bē-nās
(2) The chariot is also associated with triumphal processions
even if such processions were sometimes considered controversial. Here we have
Livy’s description of the triumphant arrival of Camillus after the conquest of
Veii in 396 BC in which he refers to the appearance of the chariot as a
political flashpoint:
adventus quoque dictātōris omnibus ōrdinibus obviam effūsīs celebrātior quam
ūllius unquam anteā fuit, triumphusque omnem cōnsuētum honōrandī diēī illīus
modum aliquantum excessit. maximē cōnspectus ipse est, currū equīs albīs iūnctō
urbem inuectus, parumque id nōn cīuīle modō sed hūmānum etiam vīsum. Iovis
Solīsque equīs aequiperātum dictātōrem in religiōnem etiam trahēbant,
triumphusque ob eam ūnam maximē rem clārior quam grātior fuit.
adventus quoque dictātōris
- The arrival also of the dictator
omnibus ōrdinibus obviam effūsīs
- with all classes having poured out to meet him
celebrātior quam ūllius unquam anteā fuit,
- was more celebrated than that of anyone ever before,
triumphusque omnem cōnsuētum honōrandī diēī illīus modum aliquantum excessit.
- and his triumph considerably exceeded the entire customary manner of honoring that day.
maximē cōnspectus ipse est,
- He himself was the object of greatest attention
currū equīs albīs iūnctō urbem invectus,
- borne into the city by a chariot yoked to white horses,
parumque id nōn cīvīle modō sed hūmānum etiam vīsum.
- And it seemed not only uncharacteristic of a citizen but even a mortal man
Iovis Sōlīsque equīs aequiperātum dictātōrem in religiōnem etiam trahēbant,
- They also interpreted it as an offense against religion that the dictator was made equal to the horses of Jupiter and the Sun,
triumphusque ob eam ūnam maximē rem clārior quam grātior fuit.
- and for that one reason above all, the triumph was more spectacular than it was pleasing.
Triumph of Furius Camillus: Francesco Salviati (1545)