Hunting: was enjoyed by aristocratic populace (slave bears, horses, dog. Lion hunting; were the preview of royalty; sport of nobility
Fishing: was seen as more of a job; Ancient sources mention one fishmonger wining the Olympia
Aquatic sports: such as swimming were only used as a way of training for other sports (recreational, not competitive)
Acrobatics: popular; used as children’s entertainment; NO evidence of competition
Children has their own games/ amusements (I.e juggling, teeter-totters, swings, (one particular game was hoop; played in the streets, and was recommended by doctors as healthy exercise that children could perform by themselves
Hoop: made from iron, bronze, or wood with small studs at regular intervals around the edge. Made loud, easily identifiable noise (help parents find children playing with it). Hoop was propelled by a wooden stick or iron rod (elater) and was supposed to stand chest high
Another popular toy: Yo-Yo. Believed to be made of wood; no example of it have survived from ancient Greece.
Tops: favored toys. No wooden tops survive but terra-cotta and bronze ones do.
Most common toys: knuckle-bones and dice
Knuckle bones: found in social and educational gathering ; found in graves and sanctuaries
Made of tarsal bone/ ankle of sheep or goat; attached to the shinbone and the radius
Has 4 sides and two rounded ends; don’t match; each assigned a different value [board sides: pranes= 4, hyption= 3] [shorter sides: chion= 1 koon: 6] each pair of sides has total value of 7.
Fancier knucklebones were made of stone, metal and glass; sometimes “loaded" to cheat
Momentum at Olympia of marble astragalos
Astragaloi were a constant part of palaistra
Dice: similar to modern dices; included games of chance like craps and board games; inventer: Palamedes (leader or Troy); more likely invented by the Eyptians
Ancient Greeks used balls for recreation and NOT athletics
Episkyros (commonball): two opposing teams of equal men. Set ball in middle and throw ball over the other team and continue until they finally get ball over the backline
Aporrhaxis: bounce a ball vigorously and dribble it; count # of bounces
Ourania: one player bending backward and throwing the ball into the sky. Other players try to grab it and dribble a ball against the wall, and count number of bounces. Loser: donkey Winner: king…tell donkey and give him orders
Ephedrismos (sitting on): setting stone at a distance and trying to hit it with balls or stones; Whoever doesn’t knock it over has to carry the one who did; eye held shut; until he finds the stone
Ball game not described in written sources: older male carries younger male and throw pairs of young men. They then all scramble for the balls after it thrown
Modern soccer scene seen on a funerary monument (used folis air filled leather covered ball)
Other modern games; athletes used curved sticks to move around small disc/ ball using a horn (keras) -> “use the horn"
Ball playing didn’t prepare future citizen in any meaningful way for their responsibilities; arête isn’t displayed on a team, therefore it is not highly regarded or documented in ancient Greek culture
St. Rosemary Educational Institution. "Ancient Greek Recreation & Activities." http://schoolworkhelper.net/. St. Rosemary Educational Institution, Last Update: 2016. Web. Retrieved on: Sunday 4th December 2016. http://schoolworkhelper.net/ancient-greek-recreation-activities/.