<P> The race was begun by a procession into the hippodrome, while a herald announced the names of the drivers and owners . The tethrippon consisted of twelve laps around the hippodrome, with sharp turns around the posts at either end . Various mechanical devices were used, including the starting gates (hyspleges, Greek: ὕσπληγγες; singular: hysplex, Greek: ὕσπληγξ) which were lowered to start the race . According to Pausanias, these were invented by the architect Cleoitas, and staggered so that the chariots on the outside began the race earlier than those on the inside . The race did not begin properly until the final gate was opened, at which point each chariot would be more or less lined up alongside each other, although the ones that had started on the outside would have been traveling faster than the ones in the middle . Other mechanical devices known as the "eagle" and the "dolphin" were raised to signify that the race had begun, and were lowered as the race went on to signify the number of laps remaining . These were probably bronze carvings of those animals, set up on posts at the starting line . </P> <P> In most cases, the owner and the driver of the chariot were different persons . In 416 BC, the Athenian general Alcibiades had seven chariots in the race, and came in first, second, and fourth; obviously, he could not have been racing all seven chariots himself . Philip II of Macedon also won an Olympic chariot race in an attempt to prove he was not a barbarian, although if he had driven the chariot himself he would likely have been considered even lower than a barbarian . The poet Pindar did praise the courage of Herodotes of Thebes, however, for driving his own chariot . This rule also meant that women could win the race through ownership, despite the fact that women were not allowed to participate in or even watch the Games . This happened rarely, but a notable example is the Spartan Cynisca, daughter of Archidamus II, who won the chariot race twice . Chariot racing was a way for Greeks to demonstrate their prosperity at the games . The case of Alcibiades indicates also that chariot racing was an alternative route to public exposure and fame for the wealthy . </P> <P> The charioteer was usually either a family member of the owner of the chariot or, in most cases, a slave or a hired professional . Driving a racing chariot required unusual strength, skill, and courage . Yet, we know the names of very few charioteers, and victory songs and statues regularly contrive to leave them out of account . Unlike the other Olympic events, charioteers did not perform in the nude, probably for safety reasons because of the dust kicked up by the horses and chariots, and the likelihood of bloody crashes . Racers wore a sleeved garment called a xystis . It fell to the ankles and was fastened high at the waist with a plain belt . Two straps that crossed high at the upper back prevented the xystis from "ballooning" during the race . </P> <P> The chariots themselves were modified war chariots, essentially wooden carts with two wheels and an open back, although chariots were by this time no longer used in battle . The charioteer's feet were held in place, but the cart rested on the axle, so the ride was bumpy . The most exciting part of the chariot race, at least for the spectators, was the turns at the ends of the hippodrome . These turns were very dangerous and often deadly . If a chariot had not already been knocked over by an opponent before the turn, it might be overturned or crushed (along with the horses and driver) by the other chariots as they went around the post . Deliberately running into an opponent to cause him to crash was technically illegal, but nothing could be done about it (at Patroclus' funeral games, Antilochus in fact causes Menelaus to crash in this way,) and crashes were likely to happen by accident anyway . </P>

Where would you find chariot races according the passage