ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, chariot racing was a favorite past time. A successful charioteer’s prize earnings in a day could surpass a teacher’s annual earnings. Most charioteers were slaves, and many were foreigners, who entered the sport to garner fame and fortune. Aurigas were also employed as charioteers for important men. The auriga would drive a '' biga'', the light vehicle powered by two horses, to transport some important Romans, mainly '' duces'' (military commanders). An auriga was a sort of "
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
" for important men and was carefully selected from among trustworthy slaves only.
It has also been speculated that this name was given to the slave who held a
laurel crown
A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...
, during Roman Triumphs, over the head of the ''dux'', standing at his back but continuously whispering in his ears "{{lang, la,