The famous chariot race scene in the movie “Ben Hur”. The greatest charioteer of Rome was Gaius Apuleius Diocles
The game of football was obviously far from being invented, but so was Ancient Rome had his Lionel Messi , meaning with this comparison a sportsman as good as he is rich:we are referring to Gaius Apuleius Diocles, almost certainly the charioteer strongest and highest paid of all time.
Lived in the 2nd century AD. (104-146 AD), Diocles was an unbeatable ace in the chariot race and in his glorious career that lasted 25 years, thanks to the many victories obtained, he managed to earn well 36 million of sesterces , equal to around 72,000 euros today.
Not bad for a provincial from Lusitania (today's Portugal) who is apparently totally illiterate.
But who and how came to these conclusions?
The study and related deductions are due to the American university professor Peter Struck , which was based on the discovery of an ancient inscription dedicated to the aforementioned sportsman by his supporters.
As a partial justification of the exorbitant sum accumulated by Diocles, it should be noted that the chariot race, a discipline that was enormously successful with the Roman public, was not without risks and indeed, coming out of a race whole and above all alive was anything but. that obvious, since not only the vehicles had to necessarily run at very high speed, but you could also end up being pierced by the opponent's hooked knives when you got too close.