Circus Maximus, the greatest sporting stage of the ancient Roman world, where the best horses and charioteers compete in a race to the death, and one girl dreams of glory. Ben Hur meets National Velvet in the ultimate 9-12 adventure story by debut children's author, Annelise Gray. Twelve-year-old Dido dreams of becoming the first female charioteer at the great Circus Maximus. She's lost her heart to Porcellus, a wild, tempestuous horse she longs to train and race. But such ambitions are forbidden to girls and she must be content with helping her father Antonius – the trainer of Rome's most popular racing team, The Greens – and teaching the rules of racing to Justus, the handsome young nephew of the Greens' wealthy owner. When her father is brutally murdered, she is forced to seek refuge with an unlikely ally. But what of her dream of Circus triumphs and being reunited with the beloved horse she left behind in Rome? And the threat to her life isn't over as she faces a powerful and terrifying new enemy... the emperor Caligula. 'I loved this adventure – full of brilliant horses, and a determined heroine following her dreams against all the odds. Looking forward to discovering what's in store for them next' Pippa Funnell, MBE

Dido is the only girl ever to have raced to victory at the Circus Maximus, Rome's greatest sporting arena. Now she and her beloved horse, Porcellus, are in hiding, and Emperor Caligula has put a price on their heads. Can she outwit the emperor and his bounty hunters? And will a shocking family secret stop her in her tracks, or spur her on to make a daring return, helped by a one-eyed mare with a heart as brave as her own? Horses, history, mystery, thrilling entertainment and sensational storytelling race neck and neck through the second pulse-pounding adventure in Annelise Gray's 9 + series set in Ancient Rome. 'I loved this adventure – full of brilliant horses, and a determined heroine following her dreams against all the odds. Looking forward to discovering what's in store for them next' Pippa Funnell, MBE, three-time Equestrian Olympic medalist

Describes the events and games held in the amphitheaters, cicuses, and theaters in ancient Rome.

Documents the stories of eight wives of Roman rulers, assessing their historical contributions and cultural influence and drawing parallels between modern first ladies and the lives of such ancient-world figures as Livia, Helena, and Julia.

The pompa circensis, the procession which preceded the chariot races in the arena, was both a prominent political pageant and a hallowed religious ritual. Traversing a landscape of memory, the procession wove together spaces and institutions, monuments and performers, gods and humans into an image of the city, whose contours shifted as Rome changed. In the late Republic, the parade produced an image of Rome as the senate and the people with their gods - a deeply traditional symbol of the city which was transformed during the empire when an imperial image was built on top of the republican one. In late antiquity, the procession fashioned a multiplicity of Romes: imperial, traditional, and Christian. In this book, Jacob A. Latham explores the webs of symbolic meanings in the play between performance and itinerary, tracing the transformations of the circus procession from the late Republic to late antiquity.

Let the Games Begin! GURPS Imperial Rome takes you to a world of adventure and intrigue, gladiators and glory. The sprawling Roman Empire is full of campaign options, from orgies in the decadent Roman villas to battles with pirates off the coast of Sicily. As an adventurer in the Imperial Age of Rome, you can . . . Journey through the narrow streets of the greatest city in the world. Haggle with shop owners, debate with senators on the floor of the Forum, or run through dark alleys with the infamous Roman gangs. Fight gruesome battles as a slave gladiator in the Colosseum - clashing with other warriors or dangerous beasts. Or race your chariot around the Circus Maximus, cheating death and vying for Imperial favor. Visit exotic provinces like Greece, Egypt, and Asia; and meet traveling thinkers, merchants, soldiers, and mysterious natives - from the barbarian Celts of northern Britain to the nomadic Berbers of Africa. March to war with the Roman legions, defending the borders against Carthaginian invaders or the savage Huns of Asia. Includes maps of Rome and its provinces, adventure ideas, and much more . . .

Like their modern counterparts, the 'first ladies' of Rome were moulded to meet the political requirements of their emperors, be they fathers, husbands, brothers or lovers. But the women proved to be liabilities as well as assets - Augustus' daughter Julia was accused of affairs with at least five men, Claudius' wife Messalina was a murderous tease who cuckolded and humiliated her elderly husband, while Fausta tried to seduce her own stepson and engineered his execution before boiled to death as a punishment. In The First Ladies of Rome Annelise Freisenbruch unveils the characters whose identities were to reverberate through the ages, from the virtuous consort, the sexually voracious schemer and the savvy political operator, to the flighty bluestocking, the religious icon and the romantic heroine. Using a rich spectrum of literary, artistic, archaeological and epigraphic evidence, this book uncovers for the first time the kaleidoscopic story of some of the most intriguing women in history, and the vivid and complex role of the empresses as political players on Rome's great stage.