In Assassin's Creed Origins, set in 48 BCE Ptolemaic Egypt, we see rival chariot teams wearing blue and green. Were the "Blues" and "Greens" of Byzantine fame around that far back, or is this an anachronism?

by AsaTJ

Obviously I know the Blues and Greens from their prominence in the later Eastern Roman Empire and their involvement in Justinian's Nika Riots. But how far back would rival teams have worn these colors? Were they widespread throughout the Hellenistic world? In the game, you meet them at a hippodrome outside of Alexandria. Did they have regional franchises, or might they have traveled around and had supporters in many different cities? And would they have head political clout during this period, assuming they did exist?

Obviously video games take a lot of artistic license, but I'm curious if it's at least historically plausible.

WelfOnTheShelf

I wrote something about the racing teams in a previous answer:

Supporters of the Blue and Green teams at the Hippodrome of Constantinople were infamous for committing violent crimes and starting riots, but why Blue and Green rather than Red and White? At Rome, the Red and White teams were older, so surely could have developed a bigger reputation?

Hopefully that answer helps a bit. In short, no one really knows when the different colours developed but they probably did date back to the Republican era, at least in Rome itself. I'm not sure they would have been present in Egypt in 48 BCE though!