Hippodromus (composed of ἵππος "horse," and ὁρκός "course," of the verb ὁρκόμενος κύρω, "I run"), in antiquity, a list or course wherein chariot and horse races were performed, and horses exercised.

The Olympic hippodrome or horse-course was a space of ground of 600 paces long, surrounded with a wall, near the city Elis, and on the banks of the river Alpheus. It was uneven, and in some degree irregular, on account of the situation; in one part was a hill of a moderate height, and the circuit was adorned with temples, altars, and other embellishments. See Stadium. There is a very famous hippodrome at Constantinople, which was begun by Alexander Severus, and finished by Constantine. This circus, called by the Turks atmeçan, is 400 paces long, and above 100 paces wide. At the entrance of the hippodrome there is a pyramidal obelisk of granite in one piece, about 50 feet high, terminating in a point, and charged with hieroglyphics. The Greek and Latin inscriptions