Gaius Appuleius Diocles

Gaius Appuleius Diocles (104- after 146) was a Roman charioteer.

Gaius Appuleius Diocles was born in approximately 104 A.D in Lamecum, (now Lamego, Portugal) the capital city of Lusitania, province of Emerita Augusta (modern-day Mérida, Spain). His father owned a small-time transport business and the family was comparatively well off. Diocles is believed to have started racing at the age of 18 in Ilerda, (today's Lérida, in Catalonia Spain) This first notable victory outside his native land brought him international fame and encouraged him to go to Rome. and quickly gained a reputation good enough to get himself called up to the ‘big leagues’ at the capital of the Roman empire.

He became known as the Lamecus and henceforth brought fame and renown to his native ancient city of Lamecum. Within the city, a statue was erected on top the fountain in front of the garden known today as Jardim do Campo, located in the centre of town.

He most commonly raced four-horse chariots and in most of his races he came from behind to win. Diocles is also notable for owning an extremely rare ducenarius, a horse that had won at least 200 races. Records show that he won 1,462 out of the 4,257 four-horse races he competed in and was placed in an additional 1,438 races (mostly finishing in second place). The ‘champion of charioteers’ is one of the best-documented ancient athletes, most likely because he was such a star at the famous Roman Circus Maximus. [1] Being the best in the field also seems to have allowed Diocles to perfect his showmanship. Many of his victories took the form of a ‘come from behind’ crossing of the finish line at the last possible moment. The crowds loved it. Any race with Diocles quickly became the ‘featured event’ of the day. This naturally helped Diocles make even more money. His winnings reportedly totaled 35,863,120 sesterces, allegedly, over $15 billion in today’s dollars, an amount which could provide a year's supply of grain to the entire city of Rome, or pay the Roman army at its height for a fifth of a year. Classics professor Peter Struck describes him as "the best paid athlete of all time".[2]

Sources

References

  1. ↑ David Stone Potter (1999). Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire. University of Michigan Press. pp. 296–. ISBN 0-472-08568-9.
  2. ↑ Struck, Peter T. (2010-08-02). "Greatest of All Time | Lapham's Quarterly". Laphamsquarterly.org. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
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