Roman Empire Fan loyalty was fierce and at times erupted into sports riots. Racing was perilous, but charioteers were among the most celebrated and well-compensated athletes. One star of the sport was Diocles, from Lusitania (present-day Portugal), who raced chariots for 24 years and had career earnings of 35 million sesterces. Horses had their fans too, and were commemorated in art and inscriptions, sometimes by name. The design of Roman circuses was developed to assure that no team had an unfair advantage and to minimize collisions ("naufragia," "shipwrecks"), which were nonetheless frequent and spectacularly satisfying to the crowd. The races retained a
Lusitania (1805 ship) heavy storm, the five merchantmen lost contact with the convoy and its escort. On 6 December they were in the Atlantic Ocean when the French frigate "Clorinde" captured all five (). The French took off the crews of four vessels and scuttled three. They kept "Lusitania" as a cartel and put all their captives aboard her. In their haste, they failed to sink "Blenden Hall". They then permitted "Lusitania" to sail to a British port. On 18 December brought "Blenden Hall" into Plymouth. There, "Blenden Hall" was reunited with her crew, which had arrived that same day on "Lusitania". In