§3.68.1κατεσκεύασε δὲ καὶ τὸν μέγιστον τῶν ἱπποδρόμων Ταρκύνιος τὸν μεταξὺ τοῦ τε Αὐεντίνου καὶ τοῦ Παλλαντίου κείμενον πρῶτος ὑποστέγους ποιήσας περὶ αὐτὸν καθέδρας ʽτέως γὰρ ἑστῶτες ἐθεώρουνʼ ἐπʼ ἰκρίοις, δοκῶν ξυλίναις σκηναῖς ὑποκειμένων·
Tarquinius also constructed the largest of the racecourses, the one lying between the Aventine and Palatine hills, being the first to make covered seats around it; for until then people used to watch standing on scaffolds supported by wooden beams under temporary booths.
καὶ διελὼν τοὺς τόπους εἰς τριάκοντα φράτρας ἑκάστῃ μοῖραν ἀπέδωκε μίαν, ὥστε ἐν τῇ προσηκούσῃ χώρᾳ καθεζόμενον ἕκαστον θεωρεῖν.
And having divided the places into thirty curiae, he assigned one portion to each, so that everyone could watch seated in his proper place.
§3.68.2ἔμελλε δὲ ἄρα σὺν χρόνῳ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἐν τοῖς πάνυ καλοῖς καὶ θαυμαστοῖς κατασκευάσμασι τῆς πόλεως γενήσεσθαι.
And this work was destined, indeed, in course of time to become one of the most beautiful and admirable structures in the city.
μῆκος μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ἱπποδρόμου τριῶν καὶ ἡμίσους ἐστὶ σταδίων, εὖρος δὲ τεττάρων πλέθρων· πέριξ δὲ αὐτοῦ κατά τε τὰς μείζους πλευρὰς καὶ κατὰ μίαν τῶν ἐλαττόνων εὔριπος εἰς ὑποδοχὴν ὕδατος ὀρώρυκται βάθος τε καὶ πλάτος δεκάπους.
For the length of the racecourse is three and a half stades, and its width four plethra; and around it, along the two longer sides and one of the shorter, a canal for receiving water has been dug, ten feet deep and of the same width.
μετὰ δὲ τὸν εὔριπον ᾠκοδόμηνται στοαὶ τρίστεγοι.
Beyond the canal, three-story porticoes have been built.
τούτων δὲ αἱ μὲν ἐπίπεδοι λιθίνας ἔχουσιν ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις ὀλίγον ὑπερανεστηκυίας ἀλλήλων καθέδρας, §3.68.3αἱ δʼ ὑπερῷοι ξυλίνας.
Of these, the ground floors have stone seats, slightly elevated one above another like those in the theatres, and the upper stories have wooden ones.
συνάγονται δʼ εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ συνάπτουσιν ἀλλήλαις αἱ μείζους ὑπὸ τῆς ἐλάττονος μηνοειδὲς ἐχούσης τὸ σχῆμα συγκλειόμεναι, ὥστε μίαν ἐκ τῶν τριῶν γίνεσθαι στοὰν ἀμφιθέατρον ὀκτὼ σταδίων ἱκανὴν ὑποδέξασθαι πεντεκαίδεκα μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων.
The longer porticoes are brought together and joined to each other by the shorter one, which has a crescent-like shape and closes them in, so that from the three there is formed a single amphitheater-like portico of eight stades, capable of holding one hundred and fifty thousand people.
ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ τῶν ἐλαττόνων πλευρῶν αἴθριος ἀνειμένη ψαλιδωτὰς ἱππαφέσεις ἔχει διὰ §3.68.4μιᾶς ὕσπληγος ἅμα πάσας ἀνοιγομένας.
The remaining shorter side is left open to the sky and has vaulted starting gates for the horses, which are all opened at once by a single rope.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸν ἱππόδρομον ἔξωθεν ἑτέρα στοὰ μονόστεγος ἐργαστήρια ἔχουσα ἐν αὑτῇ καὶ οἰκήσεις ὑπὲρ αὐτά, δι’ ἧς εἰσιν εἴσοδοί τε καὶ ἀναβάσεις τοῖς ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν ἀφικομένοις παρʼ ἕκαστον ἐργαστήριον, ὥστε μηδὲν ἐνοχλεῖσθαι τὰς τοσάς2δε μυριάδας εἰσιούσας τε καὶ ἀπολυομένας.
There is also another single-story portico on the outside around the racecourse, containing workshops in it and dwellings above them, through which there are entrances and ascents near each workshop for those who come to watch, so that these many tens of thousands of people suffer no inconvenience either when entering or leaving.