 The hippodrome was built close to the port and forum of Berytus (modern Beirut).It was one of the largest in the Levant, occupying an area of 3500 m2, and was probably similar in overall design to the Circus Maximus in Rome, comprising starting gates and a circuit of two straight tracks connected by a semicircular end.The circus was mostly used for chariot racing, which was an immensely popular and highly partisan spectator sport throughout the Roman Empire; the track would have been surrounded by seating tiers for spectators.