{"id":62053,"date":"2019-08-30T15:55:15","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T12:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62053"},"modified":"2023-03-24T15:06:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:06:35","slug":"kings-solomons-hippodrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/kings-solomons-hippodrome\/","title":{"rendered":"King\u2019s Solomon\u2019s Hippodrome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter begins with an idyllic depiction of King Solomon\u2019s achievements: \u201cWhen Solomon had finished building the House of the Lord and the royal palace and everything that Solomon had set his heart on constructing\u2026\u201d (I Kings 9:1). Among Solomon\u2019s building projects are specifically mentioned \u201cchariot towns and cavalry towns\u201d (verse 19). Despite the heavy burden of taxation that Solomon imposed on those over whom he ruled (see verse 15), Scripture is careful to note that Solomon \u201cdid not reduce any Israelites to slavery. They served, rather, as warriors and as his attendants, officers and commanders, and as the officers of his chariotry and cavalry\u201d (verse 22).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChariotry and cavalry\u201d are normally intended for military use. But a medieval midrash (Legends of the Jews [2003] V, pp. 970-971) gives a detailed account of how Solomon\u2019s chariots and horsemen also engaged in racing designed to impress and engage the public. We are told that each month, one of Solomon\u2019s twelve officials (see I Kings 4:7,19 and Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 12a) was responsible for a chariot race in a specially constructed \u201c\u2019Ippodromin\u201d (Greek \u201cHippodromos\u201d). This race track is said to have covered three square parasangs (one \u201cparasang\u201d, i.e. \u201cleague\u201d was roughly the distance one can walk in one hour), within which was an inner square that measured one parasang on each side, around which the races were run. Within this inner circuit were cages with all sorts of animals. And from the mouths of four gold lions flowed perfume for the delectation of the audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spectators were divided into four groups, distinguished by the color of their apparel. The king and his attendants, including scholars, their disciples, Priests and Levites wore light blue garments. Jerusalemites wore white. Visitors from the surrounding towns and villages wore red. And others who came from afar bearing tribute wore green.<\/span><\/p>\n

This medieval Jewish description of King Solomon\u2019s public spectacles reflects the wildly popular chariot races that were a famous feature of Greco-Roman culture. Up to twelve \u201cQuadriga\u201d (four-horse chariots) raced around the Circus Maximus in ancient Rome, a race track 2,000 feet long, but only 150 feet wide, resulting in many fatal crashes \u2013 depicted cinematically in the famous Chariot Race scene in the 1959 remake of the originally silent film \u201cBen Hur.\u201d In the days of the Roman republic, the charioteer teams and their fanatical supporters were distinguished by the color of their garments: Reds, Whites, Greens and Blues \u2013 as reflected in our Midrash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The legendary Hippodrome of Byzantium, adjacent to the Great Palace, could accommodate 100,000 spectators. The Byzantine supporters of the competing teams of charioteers were designated the \u201cBlues\u201d and the \u201cGreens\u201d. These two groups developed into warring political factions that also reflected opposing religious differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ruins of specially constructed Hippodromes are found in archaeological sites in far-flung parts of the ancient Roman-Byzantine Empire, including at Caesarea Maritima in present-day Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: The Chariot Race, attributed to Alexander von Wagner (1838-1919)<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":62054,"id":62054,"title":"1kings9-The_Chariot_Race_attributed_to_Alexander_von_Wagner","filename":"1kings9-The_Chariot_Race_attributed_to_Alexander_von_Wagner.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings9-The_Chariot_Race_attributed_to_Alexander_von_Wagner.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/kings-solomons-hippodrome\/1kings9-the_chariot_race_attributed_to_alexander_von_wagner\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings9-the_chariot_race_attributed_to_alexander_von_wagner","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":62053,"date":"2019-08-30 12:55:02","modified":"2019-08-30 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