A lecture by Dr. Allan Langdale, Art & Architecture Historian
Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara Gallery
July 25, 2019, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
When people think of ancient entertainment, they often think of the Colosseum and its gladiatorial contests or Greco-Roman theaters with their tragedies and comedies. Yet the most popular entertainment of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, by far, was chariot racing, which took place in hippodromes. Few hippodromes–or, as the Romans called them, circuses–still survive, making them less central in our imaginations.
Join the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara for a lecture on the hippodrome of Constantinople by Dr. Allan Langdale, who will take us on a tour of hippodromes throughout the Romano-Byzantine world, with a focus on the hippodrome of the capital city of the Byzantine Eastern Empire, today known as Istanbul. The hippodrome in Istanbul is the only hippodrome that has some of its monuments still standing in situ, and each tells a fascinating story of the history of Constantinople and of the emperors, charioteers, and racing fans.
