The following excerpt is from Eclipsed by Shadow, the award-winning 1st Book of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy.
Heavily-scented guards pressed around Meagan. No wonder claustrophobia is a Latin word, she thought as they jostled her. This was happening too quickly. “Of course I will visit you, Horace. Do I have to go?”
“We could [...]
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Horses streamed into Meagan’s view amid plumes of sand. The two lead chariots ran well ahead of the Emperor’s team, but the trailing field was bottled behind the Imperial horses, reluctant to meet Cerberus. – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)
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Almost all of our modern ideas on history and mankind have been anticipated in Greek & Roman thought … human nature has not changed enough to make knowledge of our ancestors obsolete.
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“Horses helped Meagan through the dark days. The familiar rhythms of their care was an anchor to the world she had always known.” – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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“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 [...]
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