Quadriga. A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast. The four-horse abreast arrangement in quadriga is distinct from the more common four-in-hand array of two horses in the front and two horses in the back. Quadriga 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 or 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. Modern sculptural quadrigas are based on the four bronze Horses of Saint Mark or the Triumphal Quadriga, a set of equine Roman or Greek sculptures, the only representation of a quadriga to survive from the classical world, and the pattern for all that follow.Their age is disputed. Originally erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, possibly on a triumphal arch, they are now in St Mark's Basilica in Venice. Venetian Crusaders looted these sculptures in the Fourth Crusade and placed them on the terrace of St Mark's Basilica. In 1797, Napoleon carried the quadriga off to Paris, but, after Napoleon's fall, in 1815, the horses were returned to Venice by Louis XVIII, King of France. The legitimate king did not want to be the illegitimate owner of a treasure. Due to the effects of atmospheric pollution, the original quadriga was retired to a museum and replaced with a replica in the 1980s. A quadriga also appears at the Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga, which dates to the 2nd century BC. Some of the most significant full-size free-standing sculptures of quadrigas include, in approximate chronological order: 1793-The Berlin Quadriga was designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793 as the Quadriga of Victory, perhaps as a symbol of peace. Located atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, it was seized by Napoleon during his occupation of Berlin in 1806, and taken to Paris. It was returned to Berlin by Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher in 1814. Her olive wreath was subsequently supplemented with an Iron Cross. The statue suffered severe damage during the Second World War, and the association of the Iron Cross with Prussian militarism convinced the Communist government of East Germany to remove this aspect of the statue after the war. The iron cross was restored after German reunification in 1990. c. 1815-The Carrousel quadriga is situated atop the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris, France. The arch itself was built to commemorate the victories of Napoleon, but the quadriga was sculpted by Baron Francois Joseph Bosio to commemorate the Restoration of the Bourbons. The Restoration is represented by an allegorical goddess driving a quadriga, with gilded Victories accompanying it on each side. 1819-1829-The Quadriga on the General Staff Building on the Palace Square in Saint Petersburg. 1828-1832-The Quadriga on the Alexandrinsky Theater, in Saint Petersburg. c. 1841-The Panther Quadriga on the Semperoper in Dresden. 1845-1848-The Quadriga on top of Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen by Hermann Wilhelm Bissen and Stephan Ussing. c. 1850-The Quadriga on the Bolshoi, above the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre designed by sculptor Peter Clodt von Jurgensburg. c. 1852-The Siegestor in Munich is topped by a lion quadriga created by Martin von Wagner. 1868-The Quadriga on the ducal palace in Braunschweig was destroyed in 1944 during the Second World War. It was reconstructed in 2008 and is considered the largest one in Europe. 1888-Quadriga de l'Aurora as part of the Font de la cascada that is in Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona. Erected by Josep Fontsere. 1893-Columbus Quadriga atop the Peristyle Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Daniel Chester French, sculpture. 1895-The Quadriga of Brabant, situated on top from Parc du Cinquantenaire; built for the 50 years of Belgian Independence, in Brussels, Belgium, was built by Thomas Vincotte and Jules Lagae. c. 1898-Atop Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, lady Columbia, an allegorical representation of the United States, rides in a chariot drawn by two horses. Two winged Victory figures, each leading a horse, trumpet Columbia's arrival. The sculptor was Frederick William MacMonnies.