Meta

Meta (meta circensium), a pillar or boundary mark placed in the circus - See the |Dictionary of Roman Coins| entry below.

META - legend found on coins of the Greek city of Metapontion, Lucania, Italy.  - See Metapontion. 


|Dictionary of Roman Coins|


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META, a pillar or boundary mark placed in the circus.  It consisted of three columns, or pyramidal figures, round which the racing chariots turned.  Horace alludes to them in his ode to Maecenas -- Metaque fervidis evitata rotis.  The rule was ot turn seven times round these bounds; and in do so it was necessary to avoid approaching too near to them, lest in driving against them the chariots should be broken; while on the other hand, if the charioteer kept too far distant from them, he ran the risk of being cut off by a competitor, who should have taken advantage of the interval.  These metae circensium were of wood; and the Emperor Claudius, according to Suetonius, caused them to be gilt.  They are shown with great clearness on sever medallions and coins of Augustus, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, Hadrian, Caracalla, Severus Alexander, and Gordian III. -- See Circus. 


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