Chariots and Carts.—The war-chariot plays a conspicuous part in the Homeric poems, and the horse and chariot are there so closely identified that we find the phrase "he leapt from his horses" used as equivalent to "he leapt from his chariot." After the Homeric age, however, the use of the chariot in war died out in Greece and it thenceforward appears most conspicuously in the great Greek games, where it was used for racing purposes. A very early example of this racing chariot may be seen on a Boeotian bowl of the eighth century (on the top of Case D, First Vase Room).⁵⁵ Here are depicted two chariots with a high open framework at front and back, each drawn (apparently) by a single horse, and driven by a man clothed in a long robe distinctive of the Greek charioteer. There is little doubt that in reality the chariots are meant to be drawn by two horses, and that the deceptive appearance is due to the limitations of the artist. On Greek monuments of a later date than this vase, the light racing chariot is constantly represented. Some primitive chariots in terracotta and stone from Cyprus are also shown in Case 50.

Roman chariots are represented by a good bronze model (No. 502; fig. 204) found in the Tiber. This is a racing car, drawn at full speed by two horses, one of which is now lost. It corresponds closely to the cars used for racing in the circus, such as may be seen in Case 110. At the end of the pole (appearing just behind the horse's mane) is a decoration in the form of a ram's head, an ornament of the same character as the four bronze objects placed with the horse-muzzles in the upper part of Case 51 (No. 503). These have decorations in the form of the bust of a Satyr blowing a horn, and busts of a boy, an Amazon, and a Cupid respectively. In the lowest parts of Cases 50 and 51 are various bronze decorations, which have no doubt belonged to axle-boxes and other parts of a chariot, but their exact arrangement is not clear.

Another form of Roman car is illustrated by the fine hanging bronze lamp representing the Moon-goddess (Luna), drawn in her chariot by a pair of bulls (No. 504). The lamp was for three wicks, two on the outer sides of the bulls, and one at the back of Luna's head. The goddess is represented on coins of the second and third century after Christ in a similar bull-car.⁵⁶ A terracotta (No. 505) is in the form of a four-wheeled hooded waggon, probably a travelling car of the type called ἀπήνη by the Greeks and raeda by the Romans. In the top of Case 49 is a marble relief (No. 506; fig. 205) representing a covered two-wheeled cart drawn by four horses. The sides of the cart are decorated with reliefs, depicting Jupiter and the two Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. Probably the car is a tensa, used to convey images of the gods to and from the circus on the occasion of the games, and for other religious purposes. The relief formed part of a sarcophagus of about the third century after Christ.

Horse-trappings.—Case 50 contains two interesting sets of bronze harness of an early date from Italy, probably of the eighth century B.C. (No. 507). They are mounted upon leather, and placed on models of horses' heads; the sidepieces of the bits are themselves in the form of horses. Of much later date, perhaps of the fifth or fourth century B.C., is the Greek bit from Achaea (No. 508; fig. 206). It is remarkable for its severe character, but was certainly not out of the ordinary, for a bit of precisely similar character is described by Xenophon in his treatise on horsemanship (early fourth century B.C.).⁵⁷ He says there were two varieties of this type of bit, the mild and the severe. In the present example we may probably recognise the severe variety, which had "the 'wheels' heavy and small and the 'hedgehogs' sharp, in order that the horse when he got it into his mouth might be distressed by its roughness and give up resisting." The "wheels" are clearly the central discs for pressing on the tongue, while the prickly cylinders at the sides were aptly termed "hedgehogs" by the Greeks. In this same Case there are also examples of the milder Roman bit, one in iron and another in lead, perhaps intended for votive use.

Case 51 contains three examples of muzzles for horses (No. 509), nearly complete, with a fragment of a fourth. These muzzles are in bronze, but we can hardly expect that this was the usual material. Probably the bronze examples were reserved for state occasions or else only used by the very wealthy. The muzzles depicted on vases seem rather to be of some pliant material—leather, for example. It is probable that all the bronze examples in this Case belong to the Greek period, though the one here illustrated (fig. 207) has been assigned to as late a date as the fourth century after Christ. The muzzle was only used when the horse was being rubbed down or led, not when he was ridden or driven. Xenophon⁵⁸ observes that "the groom must understand how to put the muzzle on the horse, when he takes him out to rub him or to roll him. And, indeed, wherever he takes him without a bridle, he ought to muzzle him." The muzzles must have been fastened to the horse's head by straps attached to the rings seen on each side of them.

It has been a subject of controversy whether Greek and Roman horses were shod. There is no mention of horse-shoes in Greek literature, and it seems improbable that they were used by the Greeks. Xenophon advises the use of a specially constructed stone floor for hardening the horse's hoofs,⁵⁹ but in spite of such precautions, it is not surprising to hear that the Athenian cavalry horses sometimes went lame as a result of continuous work on hard ground.⁶⁰ Horse-shoes are occasionally (though rarely) spoken of in Roman literature. Their use seems to have been quite exceptional as when Nero, for instance, had his mules shod with silver.⁶¹ In the lower part of Case 51 will be seen a series of iron shoes of the Roman period (No. 510; fig. 208), for the most part found in the south of France. It is impossible to believe that these were ever used as ordinary horse-shoes. The most plausible theory is that they were "hobbles," put on the feet of horses and other quadrupeds to prevent them straying. The upper part of this same Case contains sets of spurs (No. 511), most of them probably Roman. The arrangement for attaching the spurs to the heel varies. Two have loops formed by the head and neck of swans, three have discs or knobs, while another has holes for laces.

(502) Cat. of Bronzes, 2695; (503) ibid., 2696 ff.; (504) ibid., 2520; (505) Cat. of Terracottas, C 612; (506) Cat. of Sculpt., III., 2310; (507) Cat. of Bronzes, 357; (508) Cf. Pernice, Griech. Pferdegeschirr, pll. ii. and iii. (56th Winckelmannsfestprogramm); (509) ibid., pl. i. and pp. 6-16; (510) Cf. Rev. Arch., 1900 (36), p. 296 ff; Smith, Dict. of Ant.³, s.v. Solea.

55:  See Journal of Hell. Stud., xix., pl. 8.

56:  E.g., on B.M. Coins of Ionia, pl. xx. 7 (Coin of Magnesia: Gordianus Pius).

57:  Xen., De re eq. x. 6:   πρῶτον μὲν τοίνυν χρὴ οὐ μεῖον δυοῖν χαλινοῖν
κεκτῆσθαι; τούτων δὲ ἔστω ὁ μὲν λεῖος, τοὺς τροχοὺς εὐμεγέθεις ἔχων, ὁ δὲ
ἕτερος τοὺς μὲν τροχοὺς καὶ βαρεῖς καὶ ταπεινούς, τοὺς δ' ἐχίνους ὀξεῖς, ἵνα
ὅποταν μὲν τοῦτον λάβῃ, ἀσχάλλων τῇ τραχύτητι διὰ τοῦτο ἀφίῃ.

58:  De re eq. v. 3.

59:  Xen., op. cit., iv. 3.

60:  Thuc., vii. 27, 5.

61:  Suet., Ner. 30.