the
nations of antiquity; the differences consisted chiefly in the
mountings. The chariots of the Egyptians and Assyrians, with whom the
bow was the principal arm of attack, were richly mounted with quivers
full of arrows, while those of the Greeks, whose characteristic weapon
was the spear, were plain except as regards mere decoration. Among the
Persians, again, and more remarkably among the ancient Britons, there
was a class of chariot having the wheels mounted with sharp,
sickle-shaped blades, which cut to pieces whatever came in their way.
This was probably an invention of the Persians; Cyrus the younger
employed these chariots in large numbers. Among the Greeks and Romans,
on the other hand, the chariot had passed out of use in war before
historical times, and was retained only for races in the public games,
or for processions, without undergoing any alteration apparently, its
form continuing to correspond with the description of Homer, though it
was lighter in build, having to carry only the charioteer. On two
Panathenaic prize vases in the British Museum are figures of racing
_bigae_, in which, contrary to the description given above, the driver
is seated with his feet resting on a board hanging down in front close
to the legs of his horses. The _biga_ itself consists of a seat resting
on the axle, with a rail at each side to protect the driver from the
wheels. The chariot was unsuited to the uneven soil of Greece and Italy,
and it is not improbable that these nations had brought it with them as
part of their original habits from their former seats in the East. In
the remains of Egyptian and Assyrian art there are numerous
representations of chariots, from which it may be seen with what
richness they were sometimes ornamented. The "iron" chariots in use
among the Jews appear to have been chariots strengthened or plated with
metal, and no doubt were of the form above described, which prevailed
generally among the other ancient nations. (See also CARRIAGE.)

The chief authorities are J.C. Ginzrot, _Die Wagen and Fahrwerke der
Griechen und Romer_ (1817); C.F. Grashof, _Uber das Fuhrwerk bei Homer
und Hesiod_ (1846); W. Leaf in _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, v.; E.
Buchholz, _Die homerischen Realien_ (1871-1885); W. Helbig, _Das
homerische Epos aus den Denkmalern erlautert_ (1884), and the article
"Currus" in Daremberg and Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquites_.

CHARISIUS, FLAVIUS SOSIPATER, Latin