Chariot
in ancient times a kind of carriage used either for pleasure or in war. According to the Greeks, it was invented by Minerva; while Vergil ascribes the honor to Erichthonius, a mythical king of Athens, who is said to have appeared at the Panathenaic festival, founded by him, in a car drawn by four horses. The ancient Chariot had only two wheels, which revolved upon the axle, as in modern carriages. The pole was fixed at its lower extremity to the axle, and at the other end was attached to the yoke either by a pin or by ropes.
The Greeks and Romans seem never to have used more than one pole, but the Lydians had carriages with two or three.
In general the Chariot was drawn by two horses. Such was the Roman biga, but we also read of a triga, or three-horse Chariot, and a quadriga, or four-horse one.