Gaius appuleius diocles biography for kids

Diocles! Your name reverberates through the ages—Gaius Diocles of the Red Faction. There were four racing stables, factiones, in Rome—the Blue Team, the Red Team, the White team and the Green Team, colors inspired by the four seasons.

Many of the drivers, like Diocles, were from the Lusitania area (today in Portugal and Spain) in Spain, home to most of the stud farms that bred the best race horses.

CLICK HERE for article on famous horses in Rome’s chariot races.

Diocles drove his first race at age 18 (122 AD) for the White Faction and over the years drove for other Teams until he earned the most money and fame driving for the Red Team.

Online biography for kids

When Diocles retired in 146, his admirers erected a stone monument to him. It survives (Inscription CIL VI, no. 10048) and recounts intimate details of his career. The Inscription begins:

“Gaius Appuleius Diocles, charioteer of the Red stable, a Lusitanian Spaniard by birth, age 42 years, 7 months, 23 days.” The monument say