Curiosities of Ball Games

• Ball playing was popular among the Romans, and they often spent their morning exercises playing games on the fields (palaestra) or ball-courts (sphaerista). The Romans enjoyed a variety of ball games, including Handball (Expulsim Ludere), Trigon, Soccer, Field Hockey, Harpasta, Phaininda, Episkyros, and certainly Catch and other games that children might invent, like Dodge Ball. An additional game called Roman Ball is theorized to fill some gaps. see more (http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/romeball.html)

Romans Playing Ball This fresco shows several young men playing at ball. It is from an underground tomb in Rome, 1st century AD. The one wearing just the tunic may be throwing the ball but it is difficult to judge for sure. They are barefoot like athletes, but which ball game this picture actually represents is not certain, except that it does not appear to be Trigon.

Greek Soccer? This marble relief from the National Museum of Archeology in Athens shows a Greek athlete balancing a ball on his thigh, supposedly demonstrating a training technique to the boy. The ball is clearly a folis, an inflated ball. The Greeks surely played a form of soccer, since the game was popular in the streets of Rome, but the Greeks left us no descriptions. The boy may possibly be bouncing another ball, or carrying it or a cloth.

• The Greek game "episkyros", relatively little of which has been handed down, was much livelier, as was the Roman game "Harpastum". The latter was played with a smaller ball with two teams contesting the game on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre-line. The object was to get the ball over the opponents' boundary lines. The ball was passed between players and trickery was the order of the day. Each team member had his own specific tactical assignment and the spectators took a vociferous interest in the proceedings and the score. The role of the feet in this game was so small as scarcely to be of consequence. This game remained popular for 700 or 800 years, but, although the Romans took it to England with them, it is doubtful whether it can be considered as a forerunner of contemporary football. see more (http://www.fifa.com/fifa/history_E.html)

• Some researchers believe that the ball game was invented in Teotihuacan and from there it spread to other villages in Mesoamerica. Chichén Itzá's Ball Court is the largest in Mexico and one of the most beautiful. see more (http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/chichen/eg_chichen_ballcourt1b.html#)

  The Ball Court built 900-1100 A.D. Maya Toltec Architectural Style

Illustration of Maya ball game, the goal of which was to propel a rubber ball through the stone ring without the use of hands.

• Ball Courts were part of almost every Mayan city. The courts were designed very much like today's soccer fields. Raised stone hoops were placed at each end. The Mayans would play a game very much like a cross between soccer and basketball. A hard rubber ball (the Mayans had rubber in this era) was played with. The teams were supposed to keep the ball in play using everything but their hands, and score by putting the ball through the hoop. The Chichen Itza Ball Court measures 272 by 199 feet, about the dimensions of a football field. After the invasion of the Toltecs, the Ball Court took on a more somber note, with the losing team often being sacrificed. Chichen Itza must have been home to the finest athletes due to the size of their court. The size of it often indicates that many important games were played at Chichen Itza. see more (http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Americas/ChichenItza.html)