All language subtitles for Romes Chariot Superstar Series 1 Part 2 Circus Maximus 1080p EN SUB

Narrator: Rome.

The year is 90 ad.

(crowd cheering)

A 21 year old slave,
flavius scorpus

Is ready to take on all
comers in the biggest sport

In the greatest arena
in the ancient world;

150,000 screaming fans are
in love with the speed,

Fury, and drama
of chariot racing.

♪

Even the emperor, domitian

Is obsessed with
the sport's theater

And the political power
it can win for him.

We join the latest excavations

To discover the
spectacular arenas

The romans built
across the empire.

Bockmann: This is a turning
point for the chariots.

You have to imagine three
big cones standing on there.

This is the crucial point
where the race is won or lost.

Narrator: We investigate
how a mere slave,

Flavius scorpus could
become a racing superstar.

Toner: A successful charioteer

Would have to be
physically very tough.

Narrator: We discover a
man who risked his life daily

To become one of history's
richest athletes.

But envy and superstition
were as dangerous

As scorpius' rivals
on the track.

Man: We have here a curse
against opposing charioteers.

Narrator: And it
was all battled out

In the greatest race track
on earth, the circus maximus.

(crowd cheering)
♪

♪

It's been just 90 years since
the birth of jesus christ,

Far from rome an
ambitious young slave,

Called flavius scorpus,

Has been winning hundreds
of chariot races.

He's seen friends and
rivals die on the track

In one of history's
most dangerous sports.

But the real glory
and the big money

Are not found in the provinces.

There's only one arena
scorpus wants to perform in,

In the very heart of the empire.

Bell: The life defining
event of any charioteer

Would be to race at
the circus maximus.

Toner: The circus
maximus is enormous.

It holds at least
150,000 people,

Which is almost double
what any stadium

In the world is
able to hold today.

Narrator: We
don't know exactly

When scorpus first
arrived in rome,

But he would have been based

In one of the many
training camps.

And since most charioteers
never made it that far,

He must have been made
of the right stuff.

Bell: Even for charioteers
who made it to rome,

Only a select few
would have actually

Been able to race in
the circus maximus,

As it was the ultimate venue.

Toner: A successful charioteer

Would have to be
physically very tough

But mentally they would
have to be tough too.

They'd have to be
phenomenally competitive.

They'd have to be prepared to

Push their rivals
out of their way.

Narrator: In rome,
an ambitious young racer

Can come to the
attention of the emperor.

And in scorpus' time the
emperor is this man, domitian.

He's won support by raising
the pay of his armies

And thrilling the public
with lavish entertainments.

But the rumors are rife

That he's having an
affair with his own niece

And spending way more than
he can afford on the games.

Bell: Domitian is an
interesting emperor because,

Of course, he came from
a very important family,

The flavians, and
his father verspasian

Was responsible for
creating the building

That we now call the colosseum,
the flavian amphitheater.

Grig: So then we have the
successful dynasty

Establishing itself in
rome with verspasian.

He has two sons.

The first one would
succeed him, titus.

He seems to be popular.

The stories tell us
people liked him.

Narrator: Titus
won popularity by

Finishing the colosseum

And relieving the
peoples suffering

After the volcanic
destruction of pompeii.

But titus died of a fever.

Domitian came to power
with a hard act to follow.

Grig: It's the unpopular
younger brother domitian

Who takes over and he does not
get such a good reputation.

Narrator: So domitian
set out to win popularity

By rebuilding rome and
keeping the people entertained

With spectacular shows.

Under domitian there were over

60 days of chariot races a year,

And the season kicked off

With a great circus
parade or pompa circensis.

Taking part in the pompa
for the very first time

Was a huge moment
for an up-and-coming

Driver like scorpus.

Meijer: You can compare the
opening ceremonies

Of the charioteering games

With the opening ceremonies
of the olympic games.

Toner: The day
started with a procession

Where all of the
charioteers and their horses

Would be paraded in
front of the crowd.

(crowd cheering)

Meijer: The pompa was
received by the crowd,

And they were crying
for the emperor.

They were crying for domitian,

"you are our hero.

"you organized for us
these great festivals."

Bockmann: You have to imagine
the whole spectacle

As breathtaking.

Narrator: It's race day.

The pompa was a grand
and elaborate event.

But the chance of
imminent catastrophe

On the racetrack
was never far away.

This wasn't just about sports,

But life and death too.

So, the roman
obsession with religion

Played a prominent role.

Toner: They would
carry statues of the gods

In whose honor the festival
games were being held.

Bell: So the circus games

Weren't just athletic
competitions,

Or political stagecraft
or a religious ritual.

They were all three wrapped
into one spectacular package.

♪

Narrator: Statues of
the gods appeared alongside

Likenesses of the
imperial family

And all placed on
a viewing platform

To watch over the races.

(crowd cheering)

The parade is both
a formal event,

And a chance for mischief.

Performers dressed as satyrs

Are permitted to
mock the emperor

(crowd laughing)

Up to a point.
(crowd laughing)

♪

♪

Bockmann: You'd get the
first glimpse

Of the big stars of the
races, the charioteers.

Some of them had competed in
literally thousands of races

And were among the most famous
and popular people in rome.

♪

(crowd cheering)

Narrator: For all
the racers there is

The prospect of imminent
glory or disaster,

But for scorpus, a
racer new to rome,

The stakes are enormous.

Bell: So when
flavius scorpus appeared

For the first time at
the circus maximus,

This would have been
a life altering event.

Bockmann: 150,000 people, the
smells, the noise,

And the excitement
for the races.

Loades: Just imagine
entering the circus maximus

On your chariot
for the first time.

The wall of sound
would have hit you.

And all those
thousands and thousands

Of people standing
up and cheering.

These are people who've
put money on the races.

These are people
who care probably

Even more than you
about the outcome,

And your main job in that moment

Is to keep your horses calm.

To be a professional
sportsman at that level

You have to have the
ability for absolute focus.

Bockmann: I think it's hard to
imagine the excitement

That you would have as
a charioteer standing

In this little box with the
four horses in front of you.

You want to win.

You could earn a lot of
money, but you could also die.

It's a life defining moment.

Loades: The frisson
of excitement

That you could almost
touch in the air

In the place that was
the circus maximus,

The greatest sporting
arena in the world.

♪

(crowd cheering)

Bockmann: To ensure
that it's fair,

Lots were drawn to define
the starting positions.

The first color
coming out of the urn

Could choose the first starting
box and so on and so on.

Narrator: Inside the
packed circus maximus,

60 days of chariot races
starts right here, right now.

♪

(crowd cheering)

Bell: In the
first stage of the race

The chariots all
accelerate into position.

Bockmann: They had to
keep their position.

Only when they arrived at
the middle the barrier,

They were free to go.

Scorpus: Hiya!

Loades: Roman chariot racing

Was the pinnacle of
competitive sport.

Narrator: Scorpus'
years of devoted training

And personal sacrifice have all
been leading to this moment.

If he fails, he will be
forgotten in a heartbeat.

If he wins, then his
dream of one day gaining

Fame, fortune, and
freedom lives on.

♪

(crowd cheering)

Scorpus: Hiya!

Hiya!

Hiya!

Narrator: The
charioteer scorpus

Has gained his first victory
at the circus maximus

Starting his climb toward
becoming the hero of rome,

The champion of the super fans

Who thronged the circus maximus.

♪

At the bardo museum in tunisia,

A rare snapshot of
a day at the races

Has been beautifully preserved.

Willekes: So, what we're looking
at right now is a mosaic

That shows a traditional
circus scene,

And it shows a lot
of the characters,

The individuals that we would
expect to see in such a scene

And it gives us again a good
idea of the architecture

Of the traditional roman circus.

One of the things that is
unique about this mosaic

Is that it's an unusual
depiction of the audience

Because they're very passive,

Which is not what it
would have been like.

If you read any of the literary

Descriptions of a
day at the races,

You know there's
this excitement.

There's the fans going crazy,

Yelling and jumping up and down,

And urging on their teams,

And almost riding
along with their driver

Trying to get them.

They want their team to win.

So they're not gonna sit
there passively watching.

But what this image of
the audience does show us

Is it gives us an idea
of how popular racing is.

This was the biggest spectator
sport in the roman world.

Huge numbers of people
would come out to the races

Of all different
social classes to watch

The races of the day and
cheer on their teams,

And it was sort of
just a huge part of

Roman social activity
across the empire.

Narrator: The circus
maximus staged chariot races

For a thousand years.

By the time a
succession of emperors

Had left their
mark on the circus,

It was just under
2,000 feet in length

And over 260 feet wide.

Toner: The number of
race days grows over time.

At the start of the empire,
it's about 30 days a year.

By end of the empire, it's
66 days of racing a year.

So in other words, there's
racing almost once a week,

And each day's racing held
normally 12 chariot races.

So there's a huge
number of races

That are going on throughout
the racing calendar.

Narrator: Each race ran
over seven grueling laps,

A distance of over five miles,
lasting up to 15 minutes.

That's much longer than
the kentucky derby,

Which is a mile and a quarter
sprint of around two minutes.

But the circus maximus
wasn't just about the racing.

It was also a chance to
mix with the opposite sex.

Grig: One of the things that
we get told about the

Circus maximus is that men and
women can go there together,

Which is quite unusual
because that's not supposed

To be the case in other
theaters for example.

And indeed the poet
ovid describes it,

Therefore as a great
place to pick up women.

Bockmann: It is larger than any

Modern sports arena
that we have today.

♪

So a modern football stadium

Maybe holds
80-90,000 spectators.

Whereas the circus maximus

Almost doubled the
size for spectators.

There are authors who speak
of up to 250,000 spectators

Watching the chariot
races here in rome.

Narrator: As the circus grew

And the races assumed greater
and greater importance,

So did the complexity
of the arena's design.

The grandstands overlook
the long straights

And curve at one end.

There is a special box for
dignitaries, the pulvinar.

And down the center
of the circuit,

There's an elaborate
barrier, the spina.

At the far end lie
the starting gates.

Bockmann: Behind me you can see
the seating for the spectators,

Which were organized
on different levels.

Then you need two main features
for the races themselves.

You need starting gates
and a middle barrier.

The starting gates
ensure that every chariot

Parted at exactly the same time.

They were very
cleverly designed here,

So that all the boxes open

At exactly the
same point in time.

(crowd cheering)

♪

Narrator: And it
wasn't just a race track.

It was also a self contained
city, within a city.

Marialetzia buonofiglia
is an expert

On the inner life of the circus.

Bockmann: So we're now under
the seating, right?

(woman speaking in
foreign language)

Interpreter: Yes, we're
in one of the many areas

That supported the bleachers.

Imagine for the entire length
of the circus on both sides,

In excess of half a
mile, a series of shops,

Taberna, one after the other.

I've called the circus
the ancient worlds

Largest shopping center.

So there were
bakeries, brothels,

And bankers to change
money for betting.

There were many businesses.

For example, in our excavation

We found traces of
a butchers shop.

We've also found a
fullonica, a laundry.

It was a mass of useful

And interesting
places for daily life.

(people chatting loudly)

Toner: A day out at the
circus maximus was

Not just about the racing

Bockmann: So there's a
whole infrastructure

Around the racetrack and
the races themselves.

You could basically
do your shopping here.

Toner: You could
go to a tavern,

And there would have been
lots of wine flowing.

Bockmann: You could bet
on the horses or races.

Toner: There were
brothels that were famous

For applying their
trade around the circus

(woman speaking in
foreign language)

Interpreter: We're
in the upper gallery,

An area of heavy foot traffic,

Which more than two-thirds

Of the spectators
would pass through.

This gallery as well as
the one on the ground floor

Was equipped with lavatories.

There were many
lavatories like this

All along the length
of the circus.

Also in some cases,

Let's say the raw material
was used to wash laundry.

Urea is rich in ammonia,

So it was used to clean
clothes in ancient times.

♪

Narrator: The four
main racing factions,

Blue, green, white, and red

Were the ferrari or
mercedes teams of their day.

They had stables, supply chains,

Money, and above
all star drivers.

Scorpus drove for the greens.

Toner: The factions
were big business.

They're effectively
a kind of contractor

That the emperor would pay to
put on the show on his behalf.

So there's a lot
of money involved

In paying for the charioteers,
in paying for the horses,

In feeding them and all the
training that has to go on.

So it's a real almost
industrial exercise.

♪

Narrator: And scorpus
had now found four horses

That were propelling him to

A record-breaking
run of victories,

A run that was
spreading his fame

Far and wide across the empire.

(crowd cheering)

♪

Scorpus is the rising star

Of rome's circus
maximus in 90-ad.

In his early 20s,

He's starting to win in the
biggest circuit on earth.

Scorpus raced for a single
team or faction, the greens,

But that was unusual.

Most drivers were guns for hire,

Just like modern day indycar
and formula one drivers,

Seeking out the best teams
and the highest winnings.

Willekes: We have inscriptions
that tell us

That charioteers didn't always
race for the same color.

Most of them seemed to have
run for all four colors

At different points
in their careers,

So just like a modern comparison
with football or hockey,

You start off in
the junior leagues,

And then you get spotted
by a talent spotter

So they could win in the circus.

Narrator: But these
vast racing teams

Weren't in it just for fun.

They were in it for the
money, prestige, and power.

Willekes: These factions then
gained so much power

That they dictate the
prices they charged,

What it cost to rent their
horses, to rent their drivers,

To have them for a
day on the track,

And the magistrates who
were running these games

They had to kow-tow
to these factions

To get what they needed.

Narrator: There's even a
story that rival faction leaders

Once colluded to try to
leverage a price rise.

They demanded so much money

That the emperor
passed them a message.

He didn't need their
horses in the circus.

He would run dogs instead.

Willekes: So the official
threatened to run dogs.

It's like I'm not gonna
pay that for your horses.

I'm going to hire dogs.

And the emperor was like
okay, this can't happen,

So he basically
bullied the factions

Into being more realistic,

And I think helped covered
the cost of it as well.

♪

Narrator: Aside from
emperor domitian's astute grasp

Of the political
power of the sport,

He was genuinely a
fan of chariot racing,

And with every
intention of having

The best seat in the house,

A spectacular view
from his own palace.

Bell: So what we can see here
is the circus maximus

And just above we can
see domitian's palace,

Also known as the
flavian palace.

It affords a view onto the games

And creates this kind of
symbiotic relationship

Between the ruler and the ruled.

Narrator: Domitian's
personal poet, martial,

Constantly flattered
his emperor,

Claiming that when domitian
was away from rome,

The crowd gazed at
his empty palace

And couldn't
concentrate on the races

Because they missed him so much.

It doesn't seem likely.

(crowd cheering)

But when domitian did attend,

He didn't let a huge captive
race day crowd go to waste.

It was always a chance to try

To boost his own
precarious popularity.

Bell: One of the
ways in which the emperor

Would enhance the
experience of the games

Was through a lottery.

(crowd cheering)

♪

The lottery took the form
of small wooden balls

Which were thrown
into the crowd,

And when an audience
member caught them,

He or she would open them up

To find a prize
inscribed inside.

Toner: This might just be
a small pot of money,

Or it might be a whole house

Or even an estate
in the countryside.

And you can imagine
the frantic scrambling

That would have gone on to
get hold of these things.

♪

Narrator: Events like
these were played out

On a smaller scale all
across the roman world.

Excavations are
revealing that the empire

Was home to over 60 race tracks.

Over 350 miles from rome,

Across the mediterranean at
carthage in modern day tunisia,

Archaeologists are
finding new clues

About how the
circuit was laid out.

Bockmann: We're in the
circus of carthage,

The biggest circus
outside of rome.

We're standing on the
arena floor itself.

So you have to imagine
that over this floor

The horses were running
at a high speed.

(crowd cheering)

In the back we have
the spectators,

70-80,000 people
lining all the circus

Over hundreds of meters, booing,
cheering for their chariot.

Narrator: All roman circuses

Followed largely the same plan,

Mirroring the circus
maximus in rome.

Down the center of every track
there was the spina barrier.

Bockmann: This is the end
of the spina itself

In this
semi-circle.

And in front of it
you see the meta.

The meta it's the turning
point for the chariots.

You have to imagine three
big cones standing on there

So that the charioteers
can see them from far away.

They know where they have to do

This crucial 180 degree turn.

They come from here,
turn around there.

This is the most
dangerous point,

That also means that the
spectator sitting over there

Have the best places
in the whole stadium.

Narrator: And clear for
everyone to see on the spina

Was the lap counter,

Golden dolphins turned every
time the chariots passed.

♪

The team in cathage
have found a unique clue

To another of the special
purposes of the spina.

Bockmann: This is the remains
of the inner part

Of the spina of
the middle barrier.

We have made a very
important find here.

It doesn't look like much,

But it tells us a lot about how

The spina did actually
look like in roman times.

This is what we call
hydraulic mortar.

It's roman building material
with a lot of pottery in it,

And it makes
constructions waterproof.

That's why it's very important
in roman architecture,

And it always indicates use
of water in a structure.

Narrator: It's
evident that water,

Lots of it, played a
significant role on race day.

Just like a baseball field
in the dog days of summer,

The groundskeepers
needed to keep

The racetrack ready for action.

Loades: The baking heat
of a hot day in rome

The circus maximus
would be a dust bowl,

And imagine with 12
chariots and 48 horses.

You wouldn't have been able
to see in front of your face.

So that's the problem
for the charioteers.

It would certainly have
affected the performance

Of the horses, which matters,

And most importantly,
the paying public,

The spectators,
wouldn't be able to see.

And what they did about it

Was they had people
called sparsoris,

People with amphora of water.

And if you just simply
sprinkle the track,

You don't have to
make it very wet,

But if I just damp
this down with water,

Then I'm going to reduce
the clouds of dust.

If you go to a rodeo
or a horse event

In the west coast
of the america,

Where it's hot and arid and dry,

Before every event you
will find guys with hoses

Sprinkling, spraying the
track before each occasion.

Narrator: Surviving
mosaics in tunisia

Seem to confirm this
practice in the roman empire.

Willekes: Down here, we have a
figure in a green tunic.

He is probably what's called
a sparsor or the sprinkler.

The green tunic suggests
that he is associated

With our green driver,
so the green faction.

Up there we see another
individual in a green tunic.

He's on horseback,

And so we think his job
is to inform his driver

Of what's going on
around him on the track

Because the track
is a very big area.

It's dusty, it's noisy,

And the driver can't
really pay attention

To everything that's
happening around him.

So that he can
focus on his horses,

But still be aware
of what's going on.

♪

Narrator: Scorpus
is now rapidly

Gaining the kind of
experience and cunning

That means he's no longer
just part of the race.

In his early 20s, he is
still a relatively young gun

At the circus maximus, but
fast becoming the man to beat.

♪

(crowd cheering)

In 94-ad the great charioteer
scorpus is now 25 years old.

Most charioteers don't
make it much past this age.

The emperor domitian
has increased

The number of daily races to 30.

So scorpus is regularly
risking his life

Driving for the green
faction several times a day,

Testing himself
against the empire's

Finest horses and drivers.

Toner: It was a question
of tactics.

If you could take
the inner line,

Then your horses had to race
a much shorter distance.

But above all, it
was about turning

The turning posts
really tightly,

Because it was easy to lose
control of the four horses

And for them to take
a really wide berth.

♪

Narrator: For
the big money races,

Each faction pits their two
best drivers against the rest.

(crowd cheering)

♪

(drivers yelling)

Bell: In the second
stage of the race,

They jostle into
position in order to get

As close as possible
to the inner barrier.

Ockmann: Which is also dangerous

Because if you touch
it you'll crash,

But it makes you cover
less track than the others.

♪

So laps were
counted mechanically

By an installation of dolphins.

Bell: The teams went around
the central barrier

A total of seven times,

And they would have averaged
about 20 miles per hour.

They may have reached speeds
as high as 50 miles per hour.

Narrator: Travelling
at high speed

In a leather and
wood basket on wheels

Must have tested the
nerve of every charioteer.

♪

But being able to react
quickly to unfolding events

Would have separated scorpus
from the rest of the field.

Bockmann: The fact that there
could always be crashes

Would make these races exciting.

(crowd cheering)

Toner: To do seven laps of
the circus maximums

Is about three-and-a-half miles.

So it means that the race was
all about pacing yourself,

Controlling your horses,
avoiding the pitfalls,

And then timing your run,

So that you could really
sort of speed past everyone

And reach the finishing line
at just the right moment.

♪

(loud yelling)

(crowd cheering)

Narrator: Scorpus'
career was in full flight

As a star charioteer
with winnings to match

And the admiration
of the emperor.

One of the key historical
sources about scorpus

Is domitian's court
poet martial,

Who immortalized scorpus

And his own jealousy over
the charioteers success.

Have pity rome.

How long shall I be earning just

A hundred paltry coins
for a whole day's work,

While in a single hour, scorpus
triumphantly carries off

15 bags of shining gold?

(crowd cheering)

Bell: Winning a victory
in the circus maximus

For a charioteer could
be a life changing event.

Narrator: This ancient
list of charioteers

Reveals the huge number
of races scorpus won.

In a decade of competition,

He triumphed in 2,048 races,
an astonishing achievement,

The fastest winning streak
known in chariot racing history.

Toner: We know that scorpus won

2,048 races in his
10 year career.

He must have been racing
then in five or 6,000 races

Which meant he was probably
racing five or 600 times a year.

He's out there risking his
life on a very regular basis,

But it also means that
because he's successful,

He's winning a lot of money,

It quickly accumulates into
a huge amount of money.

Narrator: It
has been calculated

That the successful
charioteer diocles

Won the equivalent of 15
billion dollars over his career

And scorpus won even more races,

Averaging over 200
victories per year.

He clearly thought it
was worth the risk.

Toner: The charioteers
were huge superstars,

And because of their
celebrity status,

Even the emperors would like to

Associate themselves with them.

It showed that the emperor
shared the passions

And the enjoyment of the people

That he had something of
the common touch about him.

Narrator: But scorpus wasn't

Taking home all his winnings.

He was still a slave,
owned by the green faction

Who are taking a big
percentage of his prize money.

With each victory, freedom
comes a step closer.

In rome it's still possible
to find evidence of slaves

In other professions who
managed to buy their way out.

Bell: Here we are at the tomb
of p. Quintius t.L. Liber,

In other words, the tomb
of publius quintius,

The freedman of titus
who was a bookseller.

The l after his name tells
us that he was a libertus,

That is a freed slave.

He was able to overcome
the shackles of slavery

And eventually become a
successful professional

Buying his freedom.

This is like the
story of scorpus,

In the sense that he
would had risen up

From the shackles of slavery,

But he achieved a level of
wealth and greatness and fame

That this bookseller could
have never even imagined.

♪

Narrator: In a simple
ceremony called manumission,

Scorpus was touched
on the shoulder

Signifying the
freedom he was buying.

But scorpus wasn't
about to give up racing.

As a free man,

He could now keep even
more of his prize money,

And the victories
kept on coming.

In his mid 20s,

Scorpus was the lebron
james of charioteering,

A true superstar.

But that didn't mean
everyone was a fan.

Toner: The most successful
charioteers were hugely rich.

They were famous,

And yet they were not quite
acceptable in polite society.

They were seen as being a
bit violent, a bit rough

And so they were
never quite sort of

Able to acquire the kind
of high social status

That their money would otherwise
have enabled them to buy.

Narrator: Roman racing
fans were no different

Than modern sports junkies,
merchandise was everywhere.

Fans would wear team colors

And buy mass-produced souvenirs.

Bell: The
circus games were a

Multi-dimensional
sensory experience,

And it makes a lot
of sense that fans

Wanted to take some kind
of memento with them.

♪

Narrator: Charioteers
like scorpus were so popular

That their images appeared
across the roman world.

Now at the height of his fame,

Scorpus was the man to beat.

And his opponents were prepared
to resort to dark tactics,

Even black magic.

♪

Today, fans have been
known to have their ashes

Scattered around their
favorite sports stadiums.

And 2,000 years ago
roman racing fans

Were no less obsessive.

Scorpus would have been
surrounded by supporters

Who delighted in his success
for the green faction.

Toner: The fans who went to the
racing were hugely passionate,

But they were also
hugely knowledgeable.

They knew all kinds of
details about the horses,

About the horses
breeding and pedigree.

They knew about the charioteers

And the charioteers' records,

And they were intensely
loyal to their factions.

Narrator: Even a
star athlete could get

Into trouble wandering
into enemy territory.

(men yelling angrily)

♪

And if you couldn't physically
attack the opposition,

There was another
way to get at them,

♪

By using magic.

Grig: You could pay someone to
put a curse on the rival team.

You would often do this
in a great deal of detail.

One of the cursed
tablets found not

It only names the
charioteers on the rival team

But also names of their mothers.

And then you affix
this lead tablet,

And you'd bury it
in a specific place.

♪

Narrator: Next to the
enormous race track at caesarea,

In modern day israel,

Excavations have discovered
proof of this dark magic.

Curses.

They had been buried in water.

Daniel: We are now looking
at the well

Where around 60
curses were found.

Wells were thought
to provide access

To the underworld, and
the underworld god,

And that's the
reason that magicians

Deposited curses in them.

Narrator: Rolled
up lead scrolls

Were ritually thrown
into the well.

They have been
painstakingly unrolled

In the israel antiquities
authority's laboratory.

At first glance they
seem almost blank,

But when photographed under
multiple pin points of light,

A different story emerges.

♪

Ancient spells cast by magicians

Nearly 2000 years
ago, start to appear.

Robert daniel has spent over
a decade translating them.

They were designed to make
favorite drivers go faster,

Or destroy their opponents.

Daniel: We have here a curse
against opposing charioteers

Who should lose against a
charioteer named domninus.

The curse opens up
with an invocation.

It says I call upon
you, mighty mistress.

To judge from the title,

It's the greek
goddess necessity.

Narrator: After appealing
to the goddess for help,

The dark work of
the spell begins

To curse the
opponents of domninus.

Daniel: It says, bind and blind
the opposing charioteers,

So that they do not see dominus,

The charioteers, and
the opposing horses.

Bind and blind them,
cast them down.

Do not allow them to run.

Let them not make the turn.

Let them not win in
the circus of caesarea.

Narrator: One tablet
known as ct16 has shed

Fresh light on how precise
and cruel curses could be

Using subtle word
magic associated

With symbolic material
rolled up in the curse.

Daniel: Here we have a ct16
before it was opened.

At this point we see a
little something peeking out.

And here we see the
roll being opened

With this strange
material appearing.

Upon analysis we learned

That these are remnants
of the plant sage,

The greek word for
sage is svakos.

It's related to
the word svakolos,

Which means
trembling or shaking,

From svakolos we
also get svakalismos

And that refers to
epilepsy in horses.

(man speaking in
foreign language)

♪

If we put that all
together, we can suppose

That the magician
wished that the svakos,

The sage, causes fits, seizures

In the horses before
or during the race.

♪

Narrator: As the king
of roman chariot racing,

Scorpus must have
faced many curses.

He no doubt countered them
with charms for his protection

And for a time this former
slave won more races,

Faster than anyone before him.

(crowd cheering)

(horses braying)

Scorpus' story was
genuinely rags to riches,

The exception that seems
to prove that in rome

Anyone with the right
stuff can make it.

It was myth making
of the highest order.

(crowd cheering)

Scorpus won 2,048 races,

An astonishing achievement

And the fastest winning streak
in chariot racing history.

But with the average life
span in his sport just 25,

Scopurs' career was always
likely to end violently.

The records are unclear
how it happened.

A bad turn?

An unruly horse?

An unscrupulous competitor?

All we know is that
by end of ad-95,

At the height of his powers,

The slave to superstar
named scorpus was gone.

He was 26 years old.

Toner: We know that he was at
the summit of his career.

♪

He probably died in one of
those dramatic shipwrecks

That we hear the romans
talking about so often.

♪

Narrator: It has been
calculated that michael jordan,

The highest paid
athlete of modern times,

Earned 1.65 billion
dollars in his long career.

Scorpus amassed approximately

15 billion dollars in a decade.

Chariot racing as a spectator
sport across the roman world

Endured for around
a thousand years.

Toner: But it actually lasts
beyond the empire,

And the last known
race is in 549-ad.

It survives the empire
because it was so popular.

The people who replaced the
roman emperors, the goths,

Want to maintain their
popularity

With the local population

But it dies out
because it's expensive.

Grig: The
infrastructure required

To run the chariot racing
as we know is enormous.

I mean, the city of
rome it was no longer

The same kind of city.

It didn't have the
same kind of spectacles

And infrastructure
as the earlier city.

♪

Narrator: Just one
year after scorpus' death,

Emperor domitian
was assassinated.

He'd kept the roman people happy

With food and entertainment,
bread, and circuses,

But he'd failed to
win over rome's elite.

His statues were
smashed in the streets,

His memory obliterated.

By contrast, the adored
slave charioteer scorpus

Lived long in the
popular imagination,

Commemorated even
by those who had

Once stolen envious
glances at him.

Toner: He's mentioned
in the poet martial,

Who describes how famous he was

And how everyone in
rome knew all about

This great charioteer celebrity.

Narrator: Scorpus, robbed
of your youthful prime,

Oh, such a shame.

Death thought you were old

Because of your
multitude of victories.

Scorpus, yoke up your
steeds now and drive.

You drove so swiftly once
right to the finishing line.

Why did you have to finish
your life's race so soon?