I lived in the fishing village of Kilkeel in Northern Ireland when I was growing up. In those days, in that place, the finest treasure you could find as a youngster was a sturdy wooden fish box used on the trawlers. Frequently they were washed overboard and would land on our beaches. Two of them secured on top of each other, with old pram wheels added below and some rudimentary steering section in front would make a fine vehicle for any of the town boys. They made me rigid with envy. But girls did not have fishbox carts.
One amazing day, however, a neighbour of ours, a big boy of some 14 years was playing with his cart in the laneway behind our house when I happened to wander that way. To my absolute thrill he asked me if I wanted to push the cart for him. I was only ten years old and was dazzled to be asked to play with one of the big boys. Of course I was not being asked to play, the cart was no good unless you were on a hill or could find some stooge to push….!
I set my feet strong behind his cart as he clutched at the strings in readiness to steer and I started to push. The pram wheels rolled easily - more easily than I had anticipated with a big boy as driver, and the cart ran away from me. I plunged forward with the momentum and crashed to the ground, my two knees taking the brunt of the blow. I quickly stood, not wanting to lose a jot more dignity, turned my back on him and ran indoors to wail. My legs were streaming with blood, but not so bruised as my pride. I had a chance and I stuffed it.
Recently I thought about this event as I discovered a photograph which included the glimpse of two of these carts. Even today I can get the adrenaline rush from the concept of having some sort of chariot which would whisk you off to adventure. Other chariots came to mind.
Helios is said to have driven his chariot carrying the sun across the sky every day from dawn to dusk. Thor drove a chariot drawn by goats. Hades’ chariot was black. Aphrodite’s was golden. Zeus, Demeter, Artemis, Dionysus and many more had their chariot. In Irish mythology also, the abductor of the children of Lir is said to have “got her chariot yoked” in order to steal the children away. Hebo from Chinese mythology drove a chariot pulled by two dragons.
No chariot of course has its own means of propulsion. They need to be pulled, or, as in the case of a fishbox wagon, pushed. In space, gravity acts on the continuous fall of a module and facilitates the unpowered orbit, so I’m including reference to Artemis II as perhaps the most exciting instance of charioteering of the moment.
