The Collaborative International Dictionary
Quadriga \Quad*ri"ga\, n.; pl. Quadrig[ae]. [L. See Quadrijugous.] (Rom. Antiq.) A car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context historical English) A Roman racing chariot drawn by four horses abreast. 2 (context historical English) A team of four horses, especially as used in chariot racing.
Wikipedia
A quadriga ( Latin quadri-, four, and iugum, yoke) is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast (the Roman Empire's equivalent of Ancient Greek tethrippon). It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing. Quadrigas were emblems of triumph; Victory and Fame often are depicted as the triumphant woman driving it. In classical mythology, the quadriga is the chariot of the gods; Apollo was depicted driving his quadriga across the heavens, delivering daylight and dispersing the night.
The word quadriga may refer to the chariot alone, the four horses without it, or the combination.
Quadriga was an annual German award sponsored by Netzwerk Quadriga gGmbH, a non-profit organization based in Berlin. The award recognized four people or groups for their commitment to innovation, renewal, and a pioneering spirit through political, economic, and cultural activities.
The award consisted of a small statue resembling the quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Werkstatt Deutschland presented the award annually on German Unity Day, which commemorates German reunification in 1990. The award was presented by prominent individuals, including Viktor Yushchenko, Bernard Kouchner, and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Quadriga is a Latin word for a chariot drawn by four horses.
It may also refer to:
- the Triumphal Quadriga, also known as the Horses of Saint Mark
- the sculptural depiction of a four-horse chariot atop the Brandenburg Gate
- Quadriga (award), the statuette for which is modeled after the Brandenburg quadriga
- Quadriga Consort, an early music ensemble based in Austria
- Quadriga Productions, a film production company
- European quadriga, the quadrinomial committee led by the European Commission (Eurogroup) with the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism that organised loans to the governments of Greece
- Quadriga (archiving system), an audio-archiving workstation
- Quadriga method, another word for allegorical interpretation of the Bible
Usage examples of "quadriga".
Almost ecstatically happy, the emperor descended from his box, climbed aboard his quadriga, and took the reins.
Olivia said, looking away across the stands toward the enormous statue of a quadriga pulled by a matched team of four horses.
She saw that the first pair of chariots were being led onto the sands, and she leaned forward to look at them, studying the difference in harnessing and in the chariotit was no longer the racing quadriga she remembered from her youth, but a similar vehicle, a little smaller in size, a little heavier in weight, and more maneuverable than the quadriga had been, which was why all four horses could be attached to it without risking spills on the tight turns of the courseas well as the manner of the charioteers, who appeared to be somewhat older than the charioteers had been in Roma.
Across the square, the Brandenburg Gate was standing, but the Quadriga had skidded off its mount, like a chariot overturned in a race.
Dionysius went over to Syracuse with his four-horse chariot, called the quadriga, and, much to the surprise of the Greeks, won the coveted laurel wreath at the Olympian games.
The coin is about as large as the American silver dollar, and is carved in high relief, on one side showing Dionysius in the quadriga being crowned by winged Victory and on the reverse, Arethusa, the tutelary goddess of the sea, surrounded by her dolphins.
The two small-headed youths had brought their young ladies back to the right bank for supper, and they advanced up the Boulevard des Capucines like the horses in a chariot quadriga, stallions on the outside.
It would be like someone in ancient Greece wanting to go from quadrigae to jet planes.
Zodiac, each three pinnacles, round which the swift quadrigae circle like the sun.
The three quadrigas that had started inside had all moved off the line quickly enough to hold their positions, and since they were Red, White, and the Blues' second driver, the pace was not especially fast.
He watched Scortius belatedly go hard to his own whip, lashing his team now, and saw them respond in turn as the two quadrigas flew down the far straight.
They could disentangle a pair of mangled quadrigas, cut free the rearing, frightened horses, push twisted wheels out of the way, and do all of this in time to enable the surviving chariots coming around to proceed apace.
There was plenty of room for the thundering quadrigas to pass the wreckage to the outside.
Scortius of the Blues was outside, a little behind as the two quadrigas came out of the turn and the sea-horse dived to signal the last lap.