Explanation: In the Byzantine Empire, centered around modern-day Greece, the curious system of autocracy, bureaucracy, and suppressed civic institutions meant that political movements could not really organize or express themselves in the normal way.

Chariot racing, however, was immensely popular and tribalistic, with supporters of each of the four team ‘colors’ being unafraid to riot when things got too hot and contested in the Hippodrome. The two biggest teams, the Blues and the Greens, thus eventually became proxies for political opinions, with a riot potentially being as much about government as the races! In one notable incident, Emperor Justinian I was nearly overthrown by one such sports riot, being on the verge of fleeing into exile when his wife shamed him for his cowardice, and caused him to put on his big boy pants and do some clever bribery and alliance of convenience with the rioters’ rival team to secure his position.

VENETOI! PRASINOI!