Play and Games in Ancient Greece

The ancient Greeks and Romans used games to stave off boredom, have fun, and sometimes engage in intense competition.

Attic Red-Figure Dinoid Volute Krater and Stand (Side B)The J. Paul Getty Museum

Play at parties

In ancient Greece, elite men would gather for an exclusive drinking party known as a symposion: lounging on couches, sipping from specialized cups, reciting poetry, being entertained by musicians and performers, telling ribald jokes, and playing lively games. 

This youth in the center of the frieze of a large mixing bowl is playing kottabos, a popular game associated with drinking. 

He loops his index finger through the handle of a cup and prepares to swing it, tossing the dregs of wine. A target would stand in the middle of the room. This was messy. Archaeologists have even excavated waterproof floors in rooms where the symposion took place.

Attic Red-Figure Kylix Attic Red-Figure Kylix (about 490 B.C.) by OnesimosThe J. Paul Getty Museum

On the interior of this drinking cup, a woman is playing kottabos.  

She is depicted in the nude with short hair, reclining on a couch in a symposion context. At an event exclusively for male elites, she is probably a sex worker, and here she adopts a male role. 

Her body would slowly be revealed as a symposiast drained the dark wine in his cup. 

Lebes by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Satyrs are companions of Dionysos, god of wine. This drunken satyr springs from the front of this luxuriously decorated bronze cauldron, which would have stood as a centerpiece in a symposion. As the night went on, entertainment could get increasingly rowdy and more playful. 

Lebes by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Here, one wears a wreath and holds a drinking cup in his left hand. 

Lebes (side view) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Look closer at satyr’s gesture. While he raises his right arm and snaps his fingers, calling for more wine, his index finger touches the lid as if trying to throw the entire cauldron like a kottabos game. Was the bronze worker being playful with his subject and his craft? 

Astragalos (2nd–1st century B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Knucklebones

Knucklebones (astragaloi in ancient Greek) were popular among children for games, and adults used them for divination. The tarsal bone (part of the ankle) of goat or sheep, or imitations in bronze, stone, glass or terracotta were used.

Attic Red-Figure Oinochoe (Shape III, Chous) (about 420 B.C.) by Group of Boston 10.190The J. Paul Getty Museum

Here, three boys compete in a game of knucklebones. It is unclear what version of the game they are playing, as there were several. Could they be rolling the pieces on the ground like dice and adding the numerical values given to each side? Or are they knocking their opponents’ pieces?

Children’s activities are often depicted on choes, specialized vessels with a trefoil (three-spouted) mouth and ovoid body used during the holiday of Anthesteria. This festival of wine and revelry was also the occasion for young boys to be formally accepted into their fathers’ kinship groups.

Statuette of a Woman Carrying a Boy on Her Shoulders by Unknown artist/makerThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Piggyback

Children love to be carried on adults’ shoulders. This terracotta statue shows an intimate playful time between a woman and a child.  

Attic Red-Figure Lekythos (470–460 B.C.) by Carlsruhe PainterThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Ephedrismos was a popular game for boys and girls where one person carries another on their back while blindfolded until they touch a stone. Mythological figures are also depicted playing ephedrismos. On this oil jar, a satyr is carrying a maenad. Both are followers of Dionysos. 

Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora (about 510 B.C.) by Medea GroupThe J. Paul Getty Museum

Boardgames

The Greeks enjoyed playing petteia, a two-player strategy game involving throwing dice and moving pieces on a board. 

Play of fate

Here, two Greek heroes, Achilles and Ajax, play petteia during a break from the Trojan War. Ancient viewers would have been familiar with the myths and the heroes' fate at Troy: Achilles is shot in his heel, and Ajax falls on his own sword.

Play as civic activity

Boardgames could have a strong association with civic order, and the movement of the pieces on the board would appeal to the Greeks as akin to the movement of citizens in the city. Playing boardgames and moving pieces is symbolic of teaching the players how to be a good citizen.

Trivial and ingenuous as they might be, games played an indispensable role in ancient Greek daily and civic life. Through playing, life and traditions are perpetuated.

Credits: Story

© 2024 The J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles

To cite this exhibition, please use: "Play and Games in Ancient Greece" published online in 2024 via Google Arts & Culture, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Explore more
Related theme
United States of Culture
From Yosemite to Broadway, take a trip around the States with more than 530 American institutions
View theme
Google apps