currus

currus , ūs, m.: a chariot, car, 1.156; a chariot team, chariot horses, 7.163; pl. for the sing., 10.574. (currō)

currus, ūs, m. [curro], a chariot, car, wain.

• I Lit.
• • A In gen., Poët. ap. Varr. L. L. 5, § 153 Müll.; Cic. Att. 13, 21, 3; Lucr. 3, 642; Cic. Div. 2, 70, 144; Verg. A. 5, 819; id. G. 3, 359; Sen. Ira, 3, 21, 2 et saep.—
  • B In partic.
  • • 1 A triumphal car, Cic. Cael. 14, 34; Suet. Caes. 49; Flor. 1, 5, 6; Hor. Epod. 9, 22; Ov. M. 13, 252 al. —
    • • b Meton., a triumph, Cic. Fam. 15, 6, 1; Plin. 5, 5, 5, § 36; Flor. 4, 2, 89; Prop. 3 (4), 9, 53; Luc. 1, 316 et saep.; cf. Sil. 6, 345 Drak.—
    • 2 A war-chariot ( = esseda), Caes. B. G. 4, 33, 2.—
• II Poet. transf. *
• • A A ship, boat, Cat. 64, 9.—
  • B The horses drawing a chariot, a team, span, Verg. G. 1, 514; id. A. 12, 287; Sil. 16, 367; Luc. 7, 570.— *
  • C A pair of small wheels by which the beam of a plough was supported and guided: currus a tergo torquere imos, Verg. G. 1, 174 Forbig ad loc.; v. Heyne Exc. ad h. l.

currus, ūs, m. (curro), das Rennzeug (Fahrzeug), I) der Wagen, vorzugsw. im Zshg. der Triumphwagen od. der Rennwagen od. der Streitwagen (essedum), a) eig.: equi currusque (Sing.), Verg.: c. quadrigarum, Liv.: c. elephantorum, Suet.: c. atrorum equorum (Plutos, des Gottes der Unterwelt), Ov. – c. regis, Curt.: c. Solis, Hor. u.a. Dichter. – rector currus, Curt. (od. umschr. is, a quo currus regitur, Curt., oder is, qui currum agit, Curt.). – utrumque currus latus (Seite), Curt. – curru sublimis, Liv., od. eminens, Curt. – c. altus, Ov.: arcuatus, Liv.: auratus, Cic.: aureus, argenteus, Plin.: biiugus, Lucr.: currus diurni (Sonnenwagen), Ov.: c. eburnus, Tibull.: c. falcatus, Sichelwagen (mit Sicheln zu beiden Seiten versehener Streitwagen, b. Livius quadrigae falcatae), Curt.: dafür poet., c. falcifer, Lucr., od. c. ferreus Martis, Claud.: igneus c. Eliae, Hieron.: c. quinque liberis onustus (beim Triumphzug), Tac.: c. quadriiugus, Verg. u. Plin. pan.: currus quadriiuges et seiuges, Apul.: c. regius, Sen. – currum agere, Ov. u. Curt., agitare, Verg.: alqm vinctum ante currum (Triumphw.) agere, Sen.: anteire alcis currum (zB. v. Trabanten), Curt.: ascendere simul currum, Suet.: cedere (abtreten) alci currum, Liv.: comitari alcis currum (Triumphwagen), Suet.: conscendere currum, Lucr., Curt. u.a.: ita currus (Streitw.) collocare (aufstellen), ut etc., Caes.: collocare (setzen) alqm in curru suis manibus, Cic.: descendere e curru, Suet.: desilire curru, Curt., od. e curru, Ov., od. ab alto curru, Ov.: detrahere alqm de curru, Cic.: ducere alqm ante currum (Triumphw.), Liv.: escendere in currum, Cic.: evertere currum, Curt.: excutere alqm curru (v. den Pferden), Curt.: curru excuti, Suet.: excussus curru ac rursus repositus, Suet.: flectere currum (Triumphw.) de foro in Capitolium, Cic.: illigare alqm distentum in currum quadrigarum, Liv.: imponere alqm od. alqd in currum, Cic.: curru urbem ingredi (v. Triumphator), Suet. (vgl. Romam eo curru, quo Augustus olim triumphaverat, introire, Suet.): in currum inscendere, Plaut.: invehi curru Capitolium, Cic., od. curru equis albis iuncto urbem, Liv. (beide v. Triumphator): insistere currui (v. Wettrenner), Plin. ep.: alqm portat niveis currus eburnus equis, Tibull.: prosequi currum alcis (den Triumphw. jmds., zB. v. Soldaten), Suet.: praecedere alcis currum (Triumphw.), Eutr.: proeliari curru (Streitw.), Tac.: pugnare curribus (Streitw.), Mela: regere currum, Curt.: ruunt effusi carcere currus (v. Rennw.), Verg.: se in currus (Streitw.) citissime recipere, Caes.: sequi alcis currum carpento (v. einer Frau), Curt.: sustinere currum, im Laufe anhalten, zum Stehen bringen, Cic.: trahere regium currum (v. weißen Pferden), Sen. de ira 3, 21, 2: vertere currum suum in fugam, Curt.: vehere currum, vehere alqm curru, vehi curru, s. veho. – Plur. currus v. einem Wagen, Verg. Aen. 1, 486; 6, 485 u. ö. Val. Flacc. 2, 411; 3, 415 u. ö.: biiuges currus, v. Wagen der Venus, Apul. met. 4, 31. – b) meton.: α) wie das griech. ἅρμα, das Gespann am Wagen, neque audit currus habenas, Verg.: infrenant alii currus, Verg. – β) der Triumphwagen = der Triumph (s. Drak. Sil. 6, 545), quem ego currum aut quam lauream cum tua laudatione conferrem? Cic.: digna res lauro, digna curru senatui visa est, Flor.: prosequar et currus utroque ab litore ovantes, Prop. – II) der kleine zweiräderige Pflugwagen; dah. currus imi, die Räder am Pflugwagen, Verg. georg. 1, 174. – III) das Fahrzeug = das Schiff, Catull. 64, 9. – ➳ Dat. curru, Verg. ecl. 5, 29; Aen. 1, 156; 3, 541; 12, 511: metaplast. Abl. curro, Lamp. Commod. 3, 6 P. (Jordan mit cod. M curru): synkop. Genet. Plur. currum, Verg. Aen. 6, 653.

1 currus v. cirrus(b)

2 currus [CL] 1 vehicle (chariot, cart, wagon, coach or sim.); b (used as hearse). c ‘chariot’ of sun or moon. d (astr.) Charles’s wain. e (fig.). carpentum, ~us, horswæn‥, †bida‥vel ~us‥vel carpentum, cræt Ælf. Gl.; nec averas nec ~us‥inveniebant DB I 189 (cf. DB I 199b); prope solis occasum visi sunt ~us et quadrige in omni regione per aerem‥misceri nubibus J. Sal. Pol. 419 D; 1288 etc. (v. currarius); 1300 (v. cussinus); 1316 (v. croparium); 1391 (v. axatio); 1392 (v. cambitio 1a); ~us, chare‥, karte WW; 1460 pro reduccione †~ium [? l. ~uum] artilarie de castro ‥ versus E. ExchScot VII 33.  b s1327 abbas suo ~u honorifice ornato cum armis‥ecclesie depictis eum [Ed. II] a castello de Berkeley adduxit Hist. Glouc. I 44; s1420 ~us funeralis, lugubribus circumtectus amictibus, et manni nobiles ejusdem secte nigerrime trappaturis induti, ad eundem trahendum limitati, parati sunt. reponunt igitur in ~um corpus venerandum [regis] Ps.-Elmh. Hen. V 129.  c Cynthia lucebat curruque decora sedebat, / curru nubigero R. Cant. Malch. IV 499–500; ~us lune turbabit zodiacum (Proph. Merlini) G. Mon. VII 4; in circuitu ij ~uum solis et lune sunt viij [lapides] inter berillos et cristallos Lib. Eli. III 50.  d arctos est major ursa, que vulgariter dicitur ~us Comm. Sph. 304.  e [angeli] dicuntur et ~us, in quo multa copulata pariter deferuntur, quia ipsi‥pariter‥copulati communi assensu in divina extolluntur Bart. Angl. II 5. 2 wagon-team. 1311 debet invenire j equum et ij boves, qui medietatem unius ~i [? l. carri] faciunt Cust. Battle 156.

currŭs, (8) ūs, m. (curro), ¶ 1 char : Cic. Att. 13, 21, 3 ; Virg. G. 3, 359 || [en part.] char de triomphe : Cic. Cæl. 34 || [fig.] triomphe : Cic. Fam. 15, 6, 1 ¶ 2 [poét.] : a) navire : Catul. 64, 9 ; b) attelage dʼun char : Virg. G. 1, 514 ; c) train de la charrue : Virg. G. 1, 174.

➳ dat. curru [dans le vers dactyl.] Virg. B. 5, 29 ; En. 1, 156 ; 3, 541 ; 7, 724 || gén. pl. currum Virg. En. 6, 653.

currus , us. m.
馬車。奏凱。舟。車馬。

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currus ūs (dat.ū, genplur. ūm, V.), m

• 1 CEL-, a chariot, car, wain, wagon, C., V.—Plur., of one wagon (poet.), V.: non curribus utere nostris, O.— A triumphal car, C., H., O.— A warchariot, Cs.: inanis, V.: curru proeliari, Ta.—A triumph, C.—A team of horses, span(poet.): neque audit currus habenas, V.: curru dat lora secundo, V.—A ship, boat(poet.), Ct.—A pair of small wheels under the beam of a plough, V.

CURRUS

CURRUS(ἅρμα), a chariot, a car. These terms are especially applied to the two-wheeled cars used in battle and in racing. They differed from the carpentum in being open overhead, and from the cisium in being closed in front. The plural ἅρματαis generally used to signify the chariot and all its appurtenances-pole, yoke, reins, &c.--excluding the horse (Buchholz, Die homerischen Realien, 2.1, 219, comparing τόξονand τόξα). The words ἅρμα (Il. 24.440), ἅρματα(Od. 3.492), and δίφρος(ib. 481) are also employed for the light cars used on journeys. They frequently had, bound on to the body, a basket, πείρινς(Od. 15.131), which must have been capacious to hold the presents Telemachus got from Menelaus (Od. 15.102-105). Doubtless Telemachus and Pisistratus sat on this πείρινς,as it was unlikely that they would stand for a whole two days' journey (Od. 3.487, 497; and Buchholz, op. cit. p. 228). The most essential parts in the construction of the currus were:-- 1. The antyx(ἄντυξ) or rim. Either on three sides of the chariot or only in front there was a curved (hence ἄγκυλον, κάμπυλον ἅρμα, Il. 5.231, 6.39) barrier (ἐπιδιφριάς,Il. 10.475; περίφραγμα,Poll. 1.142), sometimes of light wood, sometimes of leather or metal (cf. for the latter Il. 23.503; and Helbig, Das homerische Epos, pp. 95, 103). It was generally a sort of trellis-work made by interlacing strips of the material used; hence probably δίφρος εὐπλεκὴςor εὐπλεκτός(Il. 23.436, 335). In different chariots this barrier was of different heights: sometimes it did not come up to the knee, sometimes it rose to near the waist, but in the Greek war-chariot it was seldom, if ever, higher. Warriors in a chariot are mentioned as being wounded in the stomach (Il. 13.398). Round the top of this barrier was the curved rim (ἄντυξ), which was generally raised above the trellis-work barrier by bars. A variety of technical names belonging to these bars are to be found in Poll. 1.143. The two ἄντυγεςof Hera's chariot (δοιαὶ δὲ περίδρομοι ἄντυγές εἰσι, Il. 5.728) are to be explained either with Grashof (Ueber das Fuhrwerk bei Homer und Hesiod, p. 28) of a double rim, one rising above the other, or with Helbig (op. cit.p. 105) of a rim at both sides of the chariot. The former perhaps suits the sense of περι- ( all round, in opposition to ἀμφι-, on both sides) better than the latter. The ἄντυξ often served to fasten the reins to (Il. 5.262). As the ἄντυξ was curved, a pliant wood was required for it; and Homer (Hom. Il. 21.37) mentions the wild fig-tree as so used. The term ἄντυξ is sometimes applied to the whole chariot (Soph. El. 746).2. The axle,usually made of oak (φήγινος ἄξων,Hom. Il. 5.838, imitated by Virgil, faginus axis, Georg. 3.172), and sometimes also of ilex, ash, or elm (Plin. Nat.16.229). It was of iron or brass in the chariots of the gods (Il. 5.723; 13.30). The extremities were called ἀκραξόνια(Poll. 1.145) or χνοαί(Hesych. s. v.), and sometimes ended in the head of an animal (Guhl and Koner, Das Leben der Griechen und Römern, p. 306, ed. 4). The iron plates on the axle round which the wheels revolved were called εὑραί(Poll. 1.145). The axle was about seven feet long (Guhl and Koner, p. 304).3. The wheels(κυκλά, τροχοί,rotae) revolved upon the axle, as in modern carriages. They consisted of (a) spokes(κνῆμαι,radii), usually four in number, but in the chariot of Hera there were eight (ὀκτάκνημα, Il. 5.723). With tips of iron (ἀετοί,Poll. 1.145) at each end on the outer side, they were fixed in (b) a felloe (ἰτύς), consisting of four or more arcs, ἁψῖδες(Hesiod, Op. 426; σῶτρα,Poll. 1.144), which of course had to be of flexible wood (Il. 4.482-486; 21.37), heat being used to assist in producing the curvature (Theocr. 25.247-251), bound on the outside by (c) an iron tire (ἐπίσσωτρον,Il. 23.519; ἐπίσσωτρα,Il. 5.725; canthus, Pers. 5.71). In Hera's chariot the tire was of bronze and the felloe gold (Il. 5.725). On the inner side they were fixed in (d) the nave (πλήμνη,II. 5.726; χνοή,Aesch. Theb. 153; modiolus, Plin. Nat.9.8). There are several technical terms for the different parts of the nave (Poll. 1.145). The external ring of iron into which the spokes fitted was called θώραξor πλημνόδετον.The internal ring round the hole through which the axle passed was γάρνονor δέστρον.What was probably a flat ring prevented the wheels slipping off, and was called παραξόνιον, ἐπίβολος, ἔμβολος: it was itself kept in its place by the linchpin (ἐμβολοδέτης). The wheels (Buchholz, op. cit. p. 224) were not more than thirty inches in diameter: this appears to rest on Hesiod, Op. 426, where Proclus and Tzetzes take ἅμαξαas the wheel. 4. The bodyof the chariot, δίφρος,also called ὑπερτερίαby Poll. 1.144, though in Homer that word appears to mean the upper part shaped like a cart. (See Ameis on Od. 6.70, who refutes Göbel's view that it is a covering to keep off sun and rain.) All efforts were made to lessen the weight of the chariot, and we have evidence that they were very light. They drive over heaps of arms and corpses (Il. 11.534), and even across ditches (Il. 8.179); and Diomede thinks of carrying a chariot on his shoulders (Il. 10.505). It consisted of some kind of interlaced straps of leather (ἱμάντωσις, τόνος,Poll. 1.142). In Hera's chariot they were of gold and silver cords (Il. 5.727). Doubtless this was bound around to a narrow frame of some rigid substance, wood or iron; and it is to this perhaps that the epithets πρωτοπαγής, κολλητός,which are applied to the δίφρος(Il. 5.193; 19.395), refer. Possibly this framework at the back of the chariot, which was always cut straight, is what Pollux (1.144) means by πτέρνα(τὸ δὲ πρὸ ποῦ τόνου οὗ πρῶτον ἐπιβαίνουσιν οἱ ἀναβαίνοντες, πτέρνα); though Guhl and Koner (p. 305) say it is the boards which were placed over the straps and on which the charioteers stood. If we allow a foot on each side of the axle for the wheels, the breadth of the δίφροςwould be about five feet.5. The pole (ῥυμός,temo), made of wood and polished (Il. 24.271). From representations of chariots, we find the pole sometimes as it were a continuation of the flooring of the δίφρος, sometimes fastened into the axle, sometimes above it. It is found fastened by two forked stays (στήριγμα, ὑποστάτης,furca, Plut. Cor. Plut. Cor. 24). These were either projecting from the axle, or, as is more probable, at the inner end of the pole (Marquardt, Privatl. der Römer, p. 182). The pole was sometimes straight for some distance from its point of fastening, and curved rapidly upwards at its extremity (πρώτη πέζα, ἀκρορρύμιον), or else was in its whole length quite straight and inclined at an angle: in any case the top of the pole was on a level with the necks of the horses. The extremity of the pole at times ended in the head of a bird, a ram, or the like. Towards the extremity of the pole the yoke was fastened about a pin (ἕστωρ) fixed in the pole. There was frequently a fastening running from the top of the pole to the ἄντυξ, in order to divide the traction-force on two points. For details as to the yoke and its fastening, see JUGUM;; and for the reins, see FRENUM

All the parts now enumerated are seen in an ancient chariot preserved in the Vatican, a representation of which is given in the preceding woodcut.

Carriages with two or even three poles were used by the Lydians (Aesch. Pers. 47). The Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, appear never to have used more than one pole and one yoke, and the currus thus constructed was commonly drawn by two horses, which were attached to it by their necks, and therefore called δίζυγες ἵπποι (Hom. Il. 5.195, 10.473-Z2), συνωρίς (Xen. Hell. 1.2, § 1), gemini jugales (Verg. A. 7.280), equi bijuges (Georg. 3.91). We occasionally find in Homer that only one horse was used (Il. 2.390; 22.22; 23.517), and it must have been fastened by traces; but a pair of horses is much the most frequent. They drew the car by means of the yoke and its collars (λέπαδνα); for they were not, Helbig thinks (op. cit. 106), fastened to the chariot by traces. Thus in the Iliad, when the pole breaks (6.38 if., 16.360), the horses simply run on with the yoke and front part of the broken pole, and the car is left behind; again, when the yoke breaks and the horses run to different sides, they do not, Helbig says, upset the chariot, as they would do if they had been fastened by traces (Il. 23.392 ff.). In this latter passage, however, it seems most probable that the shock which could throw Eumelus out with such violence must have upset the light chariot. Besides the yoke horses, there was sometimes a παρήορος (Il. 16.471), σειραῖος (Soph. El. 722), σειραφόρος (Aesch. Ag. 842), funalis equus (Stat. Theb. 6.462), funarius (Isid. Orig. 18.33), which was fastened by a trace affixed to the ἄντυξ (Guhl and Koner, op. cit. p. 305), if we may judge from vase-pictures and as the word σειραφόρος would lead us to infer. But the main work of traction was done by the yoke horses (cf. Aesch. Ag. 1679). Helbig (op. cit. p. 91) thinks that they were fastened to the yoke or to one of the yoke-horses; yet he holds (p. 106, note 6) that traces were used in the case of a team of four horses. At any rate the fastenings of the παρήορος were called παρηορίαι (Il. 16.152). These outriggers had often riders like our postilions (cf. Suet. Tib. 6, and Saglio, Dict. fig. 2223). A team of four horses is mentioned three times in Homer (Hom. Il. 8.185, 11.699-Z2; Od. 13.81), but the passages are not by any means sufficient to prove a general use of four horses, and they seem to refer to the Olympic games (see Buchholz, op. cit. 1.2, 177-8). In the above cut we also observe traces passing between the two ἄντυγες, and proceeding from the front of the chariot on each side of the middle horse. These probably assisted in attaching the third, or extra horse.

The Latin name for a chariot and pair was bigae (Verg. A. 2.272, 5.721-Z2; Plin. Nat.7.202, et alibi); in later: Latin also biga (Tac. Hist. 1.86; Plin. Nat.39.89; Stat. Silv.i. 2, 45, et alibi). When a third horse was added, it was called triga (Dig. 21, 1, 38.14) or trigae (Isidor. Orig. 18.36); and by the same analogy a chariot and four was called quadrigae (Verg. G. 1.512, Aen. 6.535; Cic. Div. 2.7. 0, 144, et alibi), in later Latin quadriga (Gell. 19.8, 17; Suet. Vit. 17, et alibi); in Greek, τετραορία or γέθριππος. Four horses were the largest number usually employed, but we also read of a chariot drawn by six horses, called sejugis (Orelli,Inscr. 2593, 6179), but more usually in the plural sejuges (Liv. 38.35, 4; Plin. Nat.34.19; Apul. Flor. p. 356, No. 16), also sejugae (Isid. Orig. 18.36), like bigae and quadrigae; of a chariot drawn by eight horses (octojugis, Orell. Inscr. 6179); and of one drawn by ten horses (decemjugis, Orell. l. c.), which was the number driven by Nero in the Olympic games (Suet. Nero 24). In all cases the horses were driven abreast.

As the works of ancient art, especially fictile vases, abound in representations of quadrigae, numerous instances may be observed, in which the two middle horses (ὁ μέσος δεξιὸς καὶ ὁ μέσος ἀριστερός, Schol. in Aristoph. Nub. 122) are yoked together as in the bigae; and, as the, two lateral ones (ὁ δεξιόσειρος, ὁ ἀριστερὸς σειραῖος, dexterior, sinisterior funalis equus, Suet. Tib. 6; and cf. Jebb on Soph. El. 721) have collars (λέραδνα) equally with the yoke-horses, we may presume that from the top of these proceeded the ropes which were tied to the rim of the car, and by which the trace-horses assisted to draw it. The first figure in the following woodcut is the chariot of Aurora, as painted on a vase found at Canosa. (Gerhard, Ueber Lichtgottheiten, pl. iii. fig. 1.) The reins of the two middle horses pass through rings at the extremities of the yoke. All the particulars which have been mentioned are still more distinctly seen in the second figure, taken from a terra-cotta at Vienna. (Ginzrot, vol. ii. pp. 107, 108.) It represents a chariot over-thrown in passing the goal at the circus. The charioteer having fallen backwards, the pole and yoke are thrown upwards into the air; the two trace-horses have fallen on their knees, and the two yoke-horses are prancing on their hind legs.

If we may rely on the evidence of numerous works of art, the currus was sometimes drawn by four horses without either yoke or pole; for we see two of them diverging to the right hand and two to the left, as in the cameo in the royal collection of Berlin, which exhibits Apollo surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. If the ancients really drove the quadrigae thus harnessed, we can only suppose the charioteer to have checked its speed by pulling up the horses, and leaning with his whole body back-wards, so as to make the bottom of the car at its hindermost border scrape the ground, an act and an attitude which seem not unfrequently to be intended in antique representations.

The currus, like the cisium, was adapted to carry two persons, and on this account was called in Greek δίφρος. One of the two was of course the driver. He was called ἡνίοχος, because he held the reins, and his companion παραιβάτης, from going by his side or near him. Though in all respects superior, the παραιβάτης was often obliged to place himself behind the ἡνίοχος. He is so represented in the bigae at p. 129, and in the Iliad (19.397) Achilles himself stands behind his charioteer, Automedon. On the other hand, a personage of the highest rank may drive his own carriage, and then an inferior may be his παραιβάτης, as when Nestor conveys Machaon (πὰρ δὲ Μαχάων βαίνε, Il. 11.512, 517), and Hera, holding the reins and whip, conveys Athena, who is in full armour (5.720-775). In such cases a kindness, or even a compliment, was conferred by the driver upon him whom he conveyed, as when Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily, himself holding the reins, made Plato his παραιβάτης. (Aelian, Ael. VH 4.18.)

Chariots were frequently employed on the field of battle not only by the Asiatic nations, but also by the Greeks in the heroic age. The ἀριστῆες, i. e. the nobility, or men of rank, who wore complete suits of armour, all took their chariots with them, and in an engagement placed themselves in front. In the Homeric battles we find that the horseman, who for the purpose of using his weapons, and in consequence of the weight of his armour, is under the necessity of taking the place of παραιβάτης (see above the woodcut of the triga), often assails or challenges a distant foe from the chariot; but that, when he encounters his adversary in close combat, they both dismount, springing from their chariots to the ground, and leaving them to the care of the ἡνίοχοι. (Il. 3.29, 13.537, 17.480-483, 500-502; Hes. Scut. Herc. 370-372.) As soon as the hero had finished the trial of his strength with his opponent, he returned to his chariot, one of the chief uses of which was to rescue him from danger.

In later times the chariots were chiefly employed in the public games. The usual form of those used in the Grecian public games appears on the coins of victors, as in the annexed coin of Hieron II. of Syracuse. Those used in the Roman games of the Circus are figured under CIRCUSTheir form was the same, except that they were more elegantly decorated. They had no ἄντυγες, but were raised in front. They had low wheels, quite at the back, and there was no space to stand in behind the wheels. (See cut p. 434.) Chariots were not much used by the Romans. The ancient Italians never fought from chariots. When such appear, they are either in representations of Greek events or are triumphal cars (Saglio, Dict. p. 1641). In a Roman triumph the general ascended to the Capitol in a chariot adorned with ivory (currus eburnos, Ov. Tr. 4.2, 63) or gold (aureos, Hor. Epod. 9.22), which was cylindrical, with sides very much higher than the Greek chariots. An example may be seen in the cuts under TRIUMPHUSwhich in a measure exemplify what Zonaras says (7.21): τὸ δὲ ἅρμα ἐς πύργον περιφεροῦς τρόπον ἐξείργαστο. The utmost skill of the painter and the sculptor was employed to enhance its beauty and splendour. More particularly the extremities of the axle, of the pole, and of the yoke, were highly wrought in the form of animals' heads. Wreaths of laurel were sometimes hung round it (currum laurigerum, Claudian, de Laud. Stil. 3.20, Tert. Cons. Honor. 130), and were also fixed to the heads of the four snow-white horses. (Mart. 7.8, 8.) The car was elevated so that he who triumphed might be the most conspicuous person in the procession, and for the same reason he was obliged to stand erect (in curru stantis eburno, Ovid, Ov. Pont. 3.4, 35). The triumphal car had in general no pole, the horses being led by men who were stationed at their heads.

Chariots executed in terra-cotta (quadrigae fictiles, Plin. Nat.28.16), in bronze, or in marble, an example of which last is shown in the following woodcut from an ancient chariot in the Vatican, were among the most beautiful ornaments of temples and other public edifices. No pains were spared in their decoration; and Pliny informs us (e.g. H. N. 34.86) that some of the most eminent artists were employed upon them. In numerous instances they were designed to perpetuate the fame of those who had conquered in the chariot-race (Paus. 6.10, 6). As the emblem of victory, the quadriga was sometimes adopted by the Romans to grace the triumphal arch by being placed on its summit; and even in the private houses of great families, chariots were displayed as the indications of rank, or the memorials of conquest and of triumph. (Juven. 8.3.)

The chief works on the subject of the chariot are: Grashof, Ueber das Fuhrwerk bei Homer und

Hesiod; Buchholz, Die homerischen Realien, 2.1, 217-232; Guhl and Koner, Das Lebender Griechen und Römern, pp. 304-308; Helbig, Das homerische Epos, pp. 88-110; Saglio in Dict. des Antiq. 1.1633-1643. The last two works give numerous illustrations.

[J.Y] [L.C.P]

Currus

dim. Curricŭlum (ἅρμα). A chariot, a car. These terms appear to have denoted those two-wheeled vehicles for the carriage of persons which were open overhead, thus differing from the carpentum (q. v.), and closed in front, in which they differed from the cisium (q. v.). One of the most essential parts in the construction of the currus was the ἄντυξ, or rim; and it is accordingly seen in all the chariots which are represented in this article. Another indispensable part was the axle, made of oak (φήγινος ἄξων), and sometimes also of ilex, ash, or elm. The cars of Heré and Poseidon have metallic axles. One method of making a chariot less liable to be overturned was to lengthen its axle, and thus to widen the base on which it stood. The axle was firmly fixed under the body of the chariot, which, in reference to this circumstance, was called ὑπερτερία, and which was often made of wicker-work, enclosed by the ἄντυξ. Fat (λίπος) and pressed olives (amurca) were used to grease the axle.

The wheels (κύκλα, τροχοί, rotae) revolved upon the axle, as in modern carriages; and they were prevented from coming off by the insertion of pins (ἔμβολοι) into the extremities of the axle (ἀκραξονία). Pelops obtained his celebrated victory over Oenomaüs through the artifice of Hippodamia, who, wishing to marry Pelops, persuaded Myrtilus, the charioteer of his adversary, to omit inserting one of the linchpins in the axle of his car, or to insert one of wax. She thus caused the overthrow and death of her father, Oenomaüs, and then married the conqueror in the race.

Sir W. Gell describes, in the following terms, the wheels of three cars which were found at Pompeii: “The wheels light, and dished much like the modern, 4 feet 3 inches diameter, 10 spokes, a little thicker at each end.” These cars were probably intended for the purposes of common life. From Xenophon we learn that the wheels were made stronger when they were intended for the field of battle. After each excursion the wheels were taken off the chariot, which was laid on a shelf or reared against a wall, and they were put on again whenever it was wanted for use.

The parts of the wheel were as follows:

(a) The nave or hub, called πλήμνη, χοινικίς, modiolus. The last two terms are founded on the resemblance of the nave to a modius or bushel.

The nave was strengthened by being bound with an iron ring, called πλημνόδετον.

(b) The spokes, κνῆμαι (literally, “the legs”), radii. We have seen that the spokes were sometimes ten in number. In other instances they were eight (κύκλα ὀκτάκνημα), six, or four. Instead of being of wood, the spokes of the chariot of the Sun, constructed by Hephaestus, were of silver (radiorum argenteus ordo).

(c) The felly, ἴτυς. This was commonly made of some flexible and elastic wood, such as poplar or the wild fig, which was also used for the rim of the chariot; heat was applied to assist in producing the requisite curvature. The felly was, however, composed of separate pieces, called arcs (ἁψῖδες). Hence the observation of Plutarch that, as a “wheel revolves, first one apsis is at the highest point, and then another.” Hesiod evidently intended to recommend that a wheel should consist of four pieces.

(d) The tire, ἐπίσωτρον, canthus. Homer describes the chariot of Heré as having a tire of bronze upon a golden felly, thus placing the harder metal in a position to resist friction and to protect the softer. The tire was commonly of iron.

All the parts now enumerated are seen in an ancient chariot preserved in the Vatican, a representation of which is given in the following illustration.

This chariot, which is in some parts restored, also shows the pole (ῥυμός, temo). It was firmly fixed at its lower extremity to the axle, whence the destruction of Phaëthon's chariot is represented by the circumstance of the pole and axle being torn asunder (temone revulsus axis). At the other end (ἀκρορρύμιον) the pole was attached to the yoke, either by a pin (ἔμβολος), as shown in the chariot above engraved, or by the use of ropes and bands. See Iugum.

Carriages with two, or even three, poles were used by the Lydians. The Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, appear never to have used more than one pole and one yoke, and the currus thus constructed was commonly drawn by two horses, which were attached to it by their necks, and therefore called δίζυγες ἵπποι, συνωρίς, gemini iugales, equi biiuges.

If a third horse was added, as was not unfrequently the case, it was fastened by traces. It may have been intended to take the place of either of the yoke-horses (ζύγιοι ἵπποι) which might happen to be disabled. The horse so attached was called παρήορος. When Patroclus returned to battle in the chariot of Achilles, two immortal horses, Xanthus and Balius, were placed under the yoke; a third, called Pedasus, and mortal, was added on the right hand; and, having been slain, caused confusion, until the driver cut the harness by which this third horse was fastened to the chariot. Ginzrot has published two drawings of chariots with three horses from Etruscan vases in the collection at Vienna. The ἵππος παρήορος is placed on the right of the two yoke-horses. We also observe traces passing between the two ἄντυγες, and proceeding from the front of the chariot on each side of the middle horse. These probably assisted in attaching the third or extra horse.

The Latin name for a chariot and pair was biga. (See Biga.) When a third horse was added, it was called triga; and, by the same analogy, a chariot and four was called quadriga; in Greek, τετραορία or τέθριππος.

The horses were commonly harnessed in a quadriga after the manner already represented, the two strongest horses being placed under the yoke, and the two others fastened on each side by means of ropes. This is implied in the use of the epithets σειραῖος or σειραφόρος, and funalis or funarius, for a horse so attached. The two exterior horses were further distinguished from one another as the right and the left trace-horse. In a chariot-race described by Sophocles, the driver, aiming to pass the goal, which is on his left hand, restrains the nearest horse, and gives the reins to that which was farthest from it—viz., the horse in traces on the right hand (δεξιὸν δ ἀνεὶς σειραῖον ἵππον). In the splendid triumph of Augustus after the battle of Actium, the trace-horses of his car were ridden by two of his young relations. Tiberius rode, as Suetonius relates, sinisteriore funali equo, and Marcellus dexteriore funali equo. As the works of ancient art, especially fictile vases, abound in representations of quadrigae, numerous instances may be observed in which the two middle horses (ὁ μέσος δεξιὸς καὶ ὁ μέσος ἀριστερός) are yoked together as in a biga; and, as the two lateral ones have collars (λέπαδνα) equally with the yoke-horses, we may presume that from the top of these proceeded the ropes which were tied to the rim of the car, and by which the trace-horses assisted to draw it. The first figure in the following illustration is the chariot of Aurora, as painted on a vase found at Canosa. The reins of the two middle horses pass through rings at the extremities of the yoke. All the particulars which have been mentioned are still more distinctly seen in the second figure, taken from a terra-cotta at Vienna. It represents a chariot overthrown in passing the goal at the circus.

The charioteer having fallen backwards, the pole and yoke are thrown upwards into the air; the two trace-horses have fallen on their knees, and the two yoke-horses are prancing on their hind-legs.

If we may rely on the evidence of numerous works of art, the currus was sometimes drawn by four horses without either yoke or pole; for we see two of them diverging to the right hand and two to the left, as in the beautiful cameo given below, which represents Apollo surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. If the ancients really drove the quadriga thus harnessed, we can only suppose the charioteer to have checked its speed by pulling up the horses and leaning with his whole body backwards, so as to make the bottom of the car at its hindermost border scrape the ground—an act and an attitude which seem not unfrequently to be intended in antique representations.

The currus, like the cisium, was adapted to carry two persons, and on this account was called in Greek δίφρος. One of the two was, of course, the driver. He was called ἡνίοχος, because he held the reins, and his companion παραιβάτης, from going by his side or near him. Though in all respects superior, the παραιβάτης was often obliged to place himself behind the ἡνίοχος. He is so represented in the biga at page 92, and in the Iliad Achilles himself stands behind his charioteer Automedon. On the other hand, a personage of the highest rank may drive his own carriage, and then an inferior may be his παραιβάτης, as when Nestor conveys Machaon (πάῤ δὲ Μαχάων βαῖνε), and Heré, holding the reins and whip, conveys Athené, who is in full armour. In such cases a kindness, or even a compliment, was conferred by the driver upon him whom he conveyed, as when Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily, “himself holding the reins, made Plato his παραιβάτης.” In the contest which has been already referred to, and which was so celebrated in Greek mythology, Oenomaüs intrusts the reins to the unfaithful Myrtilus, and assumes the place of his παραιβάτης, while Pelops himself drives with Hippodamia as his παραιβάτις, thus honouring her in return for the service she had bestowed.

The Persepolitan sculptures, and the innumerable paintings discovered in Egyptian tombs, concur with the historical writings of the Old Testament, and with the testimony of other ancient authors, in showing how commonly chariots were employed on the field of battle by the Egyptians, the Persians, and other Asiatic nations. The Greek poetry of the Heroic Ages proves with equal certainty the early prevalence of the same custom in Greece. The ἀριστῆες—i. e. the nobility, or men of rank — who wore complete suits of armour, all took their chariots with them, and in an engagement placed themselves in front. Such were the ἱππεῖς, or cavalry of the Homeric period—the precursors of those who, after some centuries, adopted the less expensive and ostentatious practice of riding on horseback, but who, nevertheless, in consideration of their wealth and station, still maintained their own horses, rather to aid and exhibit themselves individually on the field than to act as members of a compact body. In Homer's battles we find that the horseman—who, for the purpose of using his weapons and in consequence of the weight of his armour, is under the necessity of taking the place of παραιβάτης—often assails or challenges a distant foe from the chariot; but that, when he encounters his adversary in close combat, they both dismount, “springing from their chariots to the ground,” and leaving them to the care of the ἡνίοχοι. So likewise Turnus is described by Vergil, Desiluit Turnus biiugis; pedes apparat ire Comminus. As soon as the hero had finished the trial of his strength with his opponent, he returned to his chariot, one of the chief uses of which was to rescue him from danger. When Automedon prepares to encounter both Hector and Aeneas, justly fearing the result, he directs his charioteer, Alcimedon, instead of driving the horses to any distance, to keep them “breathing on his back,” and thus to enable him to effect his escape in case of need.

These chariots, as represented on bas-reliefs and fictile vases, were exceedingly light, the body often consisting of little besides a rim fastened to the bottom and to the axle. Unless such had been really their construction, it would be difficult to imagine how so great a multitude of chariots could have been transported across the Aegean Sea. The light and simple construction of war-chariots is also supposed by Vergil, when he represents them as suspended with all kinds of armour on the entrance to the temple of the Laurentian Picus.

We have already seen that it was not unusual in the Homeric battles to drive three horses, one being a παρήορος; in a single instance, that of Hector, four are driven together. In the games, the use of this number of horses was, perhaps, even more common than the use of two. The form of the chariot was the same, except that it was more elegantly decorated. But the highest style of ornament was reserved to be displayed in the quadrigae in which the Roman generals and emperors rode when they triumphed. The body of the triumphal car was cylindrical, as we often see it represented on medals. It was enriched with gold (aureus currus) and ivory. The utmost skill of the painter and the sculptor was employed to enhance its beauty and splendour. More particularly the extremities of the axle, of the pole, and of the yoke were highly wrought in the form of animals' heads. Wreaths of laurel were sometimes hung round it (currus lauriger), and were also fixed to the heads of the four snow-white horses. The car was elevated so that he who triumphed might be the most conspicuous person in the procession, and, for the same reason, he was obliged to stand erect (in curru stantis eburno). A friend, more especially a son, was sometimes carried in the same chariot by his side. When Germanicus celebrated his triumph, the car was “loaded” with five of his children in addition to himself. The triumphal car had, in general, no pole, the horses being led by men who were stationed at their heads.

The chariot was an attribute not only of the gods, but of various imaginary beings, such as Victory, often so represented on coins, vases, and sculptures; Night; and Aurora, whom Vergil represents as driving either two horses or four, in this agreeing with the figure in the illustrations on p. 445. In general, the poets are more specific as to the number of horses in the chariots of the deities, and it rarely exceeded two. Iupiter, as the father of the gods, drives four white horses when he goes armed with his thunderbolt to resist the giants; Pluto is drawn by four black horses.

The chariots of Iupiter and of the Sun are, moreover, painted on ancient vases with wings proceeding from the extremities of the axle (πτηνὸν ἅρμα; volucrem currum).

These supernatural chariots were drawn not only by horses, but by a great variety of brute or imaginary beings. Thus Medea received from the Sun a car with winged dragons. Iuno is drawn by peacocks, Diana by stags, Venus by doves or swans, Minerva by owls, Mercury by rams, and Apollo by griffins. To the car of Bacchus, and consequently of Ariadné, are yoked centaurs, tigers, and lynxes.

Chariots executed in terra-cotta (quadrigae fictiles), in bronze, or in marble, an example of which last is shown in the annexed illustration from an ancient chariot in the Vatican, were among the most beautiful ornaments of temples and other public edifices.

No pains were spared in their decoration, and Pliny informs us that some of the most eminent artists were employed upon them. In numerous instances they were designed to perpetuate the fame of those who had conquered in the chariotrace. As the emblem of victory, the quadriga was sometimes adopted by the Romans to grace the triumphal arch by being placed on its summit; and even in the private houses of great families, chariots were displayed as the indications of rank or the memorials of conquest and of triumph.