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
RMS Lusitania avoid sinking neutral ships. "Lusitania" was scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on 6 March 1915. The Admiralty issued her specific instructions on how to avoid submarines. Admiral Henry Oliver ordered HMS "Louis" and HMS "Laverock" to escort "Lusitania", and took the further precaution of sending the Q-ship HMS "Lyons" to patrol Liverpool Bay. The destroyer commander attempted to discover the whereabouts of "Lusitania" by telephoning Cunard, who refused to give out any information and referred him to the Admiralty. At sea, the ships contacted "Lusitania" by radio but did not have the codes used to communicate with merchant ships. Captain