Of the 4,257 four-horse races he competed in, Diocles won 1,462 races and was placed in an additional 1,438 races (mostly finishing in second place). Instead, the earnings came solely from the prizes he won over a 24-year-long career. The 2 nd -century star did not make his money through sponsorships or marketing gambits. And I don't know of a society in which that's not the case.” (quoted from Zarley, 2015).Ī statue of Gaius Appuleius Diocles ( CC 1.0 ) Champion of Charioteers And they want to have money, and more of that is better. People always want to have social capital, the respect of their peers, more of that is better. In fact, it's an underlying human phenomenon. to the modern period,” Struck says of the misconception “that people are somehow greedy now and they didn't used to be.” He chuckles. This naturally helped Diocles make even more money. Any race with Diocles quickly became the ‘featured event’ of the day. Many of his victories took the form of a ‘come from behind’ crossing of the finish line at the last possible moment. Being the best in the field also seems to have allowed Diocles to perfect his showmanship. By switching to the Red team, Diocles ensured that he would stand out as the greatest of the Reds – and reap the financial benefits that went along with it.
The Greens were undoubtedly the most popular and attracted the greatest racers. Some historians speculate that Diocles switch from the popular Greens to the Reds had a simple motivation: wealth and glory. “This was a bold move because of the popularity of the Greens, but Diocles suffered no apparent damage” (Kebric, 2005). He then transferred to the Red Team at age 27. Being a natural charioteer, Diocles was called up to the Green team at age 24. In Rome at this time, “competitors were affiliated to teams – not dissimilar to those of today’s Formula 1 – which invested in training and development of horses and equipment” with the players of the lowest team, the White team, “usually drawn from the lower orders of society” (Wardrop, 2010). Once in Rome, Diocles began driving for the White team.
Known there as the Lamecus, Diocles brought considerable renown to his hometown. Diocles is believed to have started racing at the age of 18 in Ilerda (modern-day Catalonia) and quickly gained a reputation good enough to get himself called up to the ‘big leagues’ in Rome. His father owned a small-time transport business and the family was comparatively well off. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was born in approximately 104 A.D in Lamecum, the capital city of Lusitania, province of Emerita Augusta (modern-day Portugal). Even the few sports stars that have managed to break $1 billion in total revenues, such as Tiger Woods, cannot compete with the highest paid athlete of all time - Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a Roman charioteer who reportedly earned over $15 billion in today’s dollars. Yet to history’s highest paid athlete, these figures are a pittance. According to Forbes, the top five highest-paid athletes in 2016 were Cristiano Ronaldo ($88 million), Lionel Messi ($81.4 million), LeBron James ($77.2 million), Roger Federer ($67.8 million), and Kevin Durant ($56.2 million). There is much discussion about today’s highly paid athletes, be they football stars or Olympic competitors.
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