Lageion
The Lageion (Greek:Λαγεῖον, translit: Layeῖon) also known as the Hippodrome of Alexandria, was a hippodrome situated in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, below the Serapeum. It is named after the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter.[1] Other sources cite that it was named after a figure called Lagos, who was believed to be the father of Ptolemy I.[2]
The structure was covered up completely under housing during the end of the 19th century.[3]
Description
[edit]The size of the Lageion was 615 meter with curvature on both ends and its tracks were 568 meter in length as indicated by the records during the Napoleonic expeditions.[4] Following the Hellenistic model for such a structure, it had tiered seats that were built on top of a system of parallel walls.[5] The structure was similar to the hippodrome built at Cyrene and the Circus Maximus constructed in Rome during the reigns of Julius Caesar and Augustus.[5]
The Lageion was constructed during the Ptolemaia and was first mentioned by Polybius, who described it as a theater.[6] Records show that the Lageion was initially used as a stadium for athletic events and as a hippodrome racecourse later on.[7] An account cited that the Lageion was also used during the late second- or early third century for official ceremonies such as imperial cult offerings.[8] According to Plutarch, the Lageion was the location of the first clash between Octavian and Mark Antony in 30 BC.[2] It was converted to a circus for chariot racing during the Roman period as indicated by the addition of a central dividing barrier (spina), which was found at the western end of the edifice.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Architecture for entertainment: the hippodrome". World history. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
- ^ a b Humphrey, John H. (1986). Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 509. ISBN 0-520-04921-7.
- ^ J. Paul Getty Museum (1996). Alexandria and Alexandrianism: Papers Delivered at a Symposium Organized by The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities and Held at the Museum, April 22–25, 1993. Malibu, CA: Getty Publications. p. 112. ISBN 0-89236-292-8.
- ^ a b McKenzie, Judith; McKenzie, Rhys-Davids Junior Research Fellow in Archaeology Judith; Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (2007). The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 203. ISBN 978-0300115550.
- ^ a b Netzer, Ehud (2008). Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. p. 279. ISBN 9780801036125.
- ^ Callimachus (2015). Stephens, Susan (ed.). Callimachus: The Hymns. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-19-978304-5.
- ^ McKenzie, Judith (2007). The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300115550.
- ^ Remijsen, Sofie (2015). The End of Greek Athletics in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 126. ISBN 9781107050785.
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