Pliny the Younger's thoughts on factions

[malthaussen]

"I am the more astonished that so many thousands of grown men should be possessed again and again with a childish passion to look at galloping horses, and men standing upright in their chariots. If, indeed, they were attracted by the swiftness of the horses or the skill of the men, one could account for this enthusiasm. But in fact it is a bit of cloth they favour, a bit of cloth that captivates them. And if during the running the racers were to exchange colours, their partisans would change sides, and instantly forsake the very drivers and horses whom they were just before recognizing from afar, and clamorously saluting by name." (translated by William Melmoth, H. A. Harris, Sport in Greece and Rome [Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972], 220-21)

Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose, eh? Good article on chariot racing here: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html

-- Mal

[Jeffrey H.]

No different than todays sport team affiliations.