Horses may have pulled and carried humanity up the long ascent from primitive cultures, but it wasn’t a straight line. Human societies have been subject to cycles of falling away from civilized life.
“Dark age” describes the lack of historical records from these periods, such as during the Bronze Age collapse about 1200 BC, which ended [...]
The horse is prey and never forgets it: his motto is to ‘run away to live another day.’
Book II of my fiction trilogy about horses and history is being published soon. So why did I write about horses?
The main reason is they teach us about the world, and they’re lots of fun. Here are some reasons I think horses are an interesting subject:
Horses have always been with us
Since Stone Age [...]
A new review by Mara Dabrishus of the blog Whitebrook Farm mentions Incitatus, a famed Roman chariot-racing stallion favored by the third Emperor Caligula (24-41 AD) to the point of obsession.
The book passage mentioning Incitatus comes during a visit to the strange library of Mrs. Bridgestone, an eccentric woman who has made a collection [...]
Naufragia was the name Romans gave to crashes during a chariot race, the shocking pileups of man, machine and thrashing horses. Naufragia is the latin word for “shipwreck,” which conjures the shocking destruction and tangled ruin that so dismayed—and ultimately delighted—the screaming spectators of the Circus.
Naufragia was ultimate disaster, an end not only to hopes [...]
In our modern society we have celebrity athletes of different sports, but this is not simply a continuation of historical tradition. Rome was the society that first grew athlete-superstars was Rome. After their collapse, Europe endured a period of centuries known as the Dark or Middle Ages in which there were no celebrity athletes. It [...]
Oh no! He’s taken the corner wide!
What are you doing? The next chariot is crowding you.
What are you doing, you idiot? You’re going to lose what my girl’s prayed for!
Pull, please, PULL left as hard as you can.
We are rooting for a bum.
- Ovid (43 BC – AD 17) Amores
The idea that human nature does [...]
A city is gripped in mania: favored teams of pampered athletes from around the known world are meeting in no-holds-barred competition on the field of sport. Dignitaries and celebrities mingle with major sports figures as throngs chant the names of their favorites. Vast sums are wagered, details of the competition are endlessly debated. A deafening [...]
“The Chariot Race” (1882) by Alexander von Wagner
A goal of mine when writing “Eclipsed by Shadow” was to introduce lesser-known history and discuss it in new ways. Roman chariot racing signaled something new to humanity with far-reaching implications, and it was the phenomenon that made me aware of the central role horsemanship has truly [...]
•