Hippodrome of Olympia Hippodrome of Olympia The Hippodrome of Olympia housed the equestrian contests (horse racing and chariot racing) of the Ancient Olympic Games. According to Pausanias, it was situated to the south of the Stadium and covered a large area about 600 meters long and 200 meters wide. The hippodrome was a wide, flat, open space where the starting point and the finish line were designated with a pole and a second smaller pole called nyssa designated the turning point. Horse and chariot races were one of the most popular and spectacular sports of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. The equestrian
Hippodrome of Constantinople in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine era. Although the Hippodrome is usually associated with Constantinople's days of glory as an imperial capital, it actually predates that era. The first Hippodrome was built when the city was called Byzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. In AD 203 the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment. In AD 324, the Emperor Constantine the Great decided to move the seat of the government from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Nova Roma (New Rome).