Games and toys in the Greco-Roman world

Some feeding bottles, moulded into particular shapes and covered on the outside with bright colours, were like actual toys, designed to entertain the infant, encourage them to eat and at the same time maintain their interest through noise.

Indeed, a small stone or earthenware ball was often placed inside the bottles, which made it possible to generate rattling noises when the objects were shaken. 

It is not surprising that Aristotle attributes the invention of a sonorous toy known as platagè – similar to a cog rattle or crotales – to the Pythagorean Archita, a famous philosopher and politician from Taranto who lived in the 4^th century BC.
Indeed, the Pythagoreans recognised that music played a central role in education from early childhood.

The terracotta models of birds, cockerels and dogs show that domestic animals were the favourite companions of children. 

Such toys could also be mounted on wheels or have moving parts and holes drilled through them for threading cords. 

In most cases these were inexpensive products, made in series using a mould. 

Carts were also widely attested toys, from very simple forms, consisting of a long stick with a handle attached to two wheels that could be pushed or pulled, to more complex forms with seats inside small wagons. 

The musical instruments include the krotala (crotales), consisting of three small, slightly flared square bone plates, attached to a handle that allowed them to be struck against each other.

Their shape and the possibility of creating miniature versions made them particularly suitable for children.

The two polychromatic terracotta gladiators found in Taranto belonged to sets of grave goods. This represents a distinctive aspect of Roman culture, which first coexisted with Greek culture in Taranto and then superseded it during the 1^st century BC. 

Although the lack of weapons, which have not been preserved, hinders identification, on the basis of the surviving elements, the two subjects could be identified  as a Thracian, and a Murmillo.

Astragali, small bones located in the tarsus of a sheep, were also frequently used for those “throwing games”. They were used in tropa (hole-game), omilla (literally “in the circle”), pentelitha (literally “five stones”), artiasmós (even and odd) and pleistobolinda (the game of the highest throw”).

However, astragali were also used by adults in games of dexterity, often enlivened by betting, as recorded by authors such as Martial and Plautus. Gambling is probably the reason why in Rome, in the 2nd century AD, a censorial edict forbade the game of astragali, except during the festivals dedicated to Saturn.

On the back of the artefact, dated to the late 4^th-early 3^rd century BC, one can still make out the drawing of a face in profile and three letters (HPA), possibly referring to the craftsman, engraved before firing.

Astragali could also be inscribed or bear figurative scenes; artificial astragali made of glass, stone and metal are also attested. 

In addition to games, these objects were also used in astragalomantic practices, divinatory and oracular consultations linked to rituals, the worship of specific deities or mystery cults.

The technical difficulties of these games probably led to their abandonment in favour of classical dice; as in today's games, the sum of the values marked on the opposite faces was equal to 7. There is also evidence of loaded or modified dice.

Dice made of bone, or more rarely of ivory, are often found in association with gaming pieces (counters, tokens, tiles) made of stone, vitreous paste and shell, in a wide variety of assemblages.

Counters and tiles were used on the so-called tabulae lusoriae, game boards, which were found both in private and public spaces, showing that the game was not only entertainment, but also a social activity.