FVSCUS CVRSOR
PRASINI VIX[it] ANN[os] XXIVV VICIT ROM[ae] LIII AD DEAM DIAM II
BOVILLIS I VNA PALMA REV[ocatus] BIS
EANDEM VICIT HIC OMNIVM CVRSOR[um]
PRIMVS QVA DIE MISSVS EST VICIT STAT[im]
C[aio] CESTIO M[arco] SERVILIO CO[n]S[ulibus]
MACHAO CONSER[vus] MEMORIAE CAUSA
Fuscus, charioteer of the Green [racing stable], lived 24 years. At Rome he won 53 times, twice at the games for the goddess Dia, once at Bovillae; having been called back twice [from false starts] for one palm of victory, he won the same. Out of all charioteers, he won immediately on the very day he was first sent out. Machao, his fellow slave, [set up this tablet] for the sake of his memory in the consulship of Gaius Cestius and Marcus Servilius [35 CE]. (CIL 6.33950; first century CE).
Fuscus was a slave charioteer who raced for the Green stable; the four racing factions in Rome were named for the colors worn by their drivers—Red, White, Green, and Blue. He may have been born in the province of Africa, since his name (“dusky” or “dark-skinned”) may refer to the color of his skin; North Africa supplied many horses and drivers for the racing stables. The inscription indicates that he sometimes raced outside of Rome; the sanctuary of the ancient Italian goddess Dia was about 5 miles south of Rome, and chariot races were apparently part of her festival in May, celebrated by the Arval Brethren. Annual chariot racing festivals were also held at Bovillae, located on the Via Appia about 11 miles southeast of Rome. In his short life, Fuscus won a significant number of victories, and the tablet boasts that he was the first charioteer to win the palm of victory on the day he started racing.