Fik meijer biography of christopher

A massive crowd of people, cloaked in the colors of their beloved athletes, slowly fill a ,seat arena to cheer on their favorite teams. Athletes enter the stadium amid great pomp and circumstance as opposing fans hurl insults at one another and place bets on the day’s outcome. Although this familiar scene might describe a contemporary football game, it also portrays a day at the chariot races in ancient Rome, where racers were the sports stars of the ancient world.

Following close on the heels of his successful book on gladiators, Fik Meijer reveals all there is to know about chariot racing in the Roman Empire. After recounting the Nika riot of AD—where tens of thousands of people were killed after a politically heated tournament of races—Meijer reviews the historical background, organization, and popularity of these games. He profiles the sport’s famous teams, jockeys, and horses and discusses how the whole business fed into the strategy of Juve

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Classical Antiquity once again a hot topic

Classics on the rise

This week was created to revive the once waning interest in the historical period known as Antiquity ( BC to AD), but according to Leiden Classics scholars Casper de Jonge and Hugo Koning this dip in interest is now clearly over. ‘The week now meets a very real need: people are extremely interested in Classical Antiquity; grammar schools are once again popular, and there is a lot of interest in classical literature and archaeological excavations,’ says De Jonge.

Western identity

Koning: ‘This may sound a bit heavy, but this increase in interest may have something to do with a new longing for our own history and a reaffirmation of our Western identity in this troubled world.’ The Classics and Ancient Civilizations programme is consequentlu not under threat. Leiden is a leader in the field and the number of first-year students in the Classics and Ancient Civilizations programme has been stable over the last few year