Games and Gambling in Ancient Rome | Early European History And Religion

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BOARD GAMES IN ANCIENT ROME

Roman board game from Silchester, England

Board games were played in ancient Rome. The first record of backgammon comes from 1st century Rome, where the Emperor Claudius, who played a game called Tabula with pieces and a board looks exactly like a modern backgammon board. Checkers was known in Rome as ludus latrunculorom (the "game of little robbers").

While the Roman game of backgammon (duodecim scripta), in which the moves of the men (calculi) were determined by numbers thrown with dice or bonesas in our game, may have fallen under the ban of the law, chess (latrunculi) was exempt, since the moves depended only on the foresight and skill of the players. This game of calculated combinations, which in the first century delighted both the Stoic Julius Canus and the consul Piso, and in which in Martial's day intellectuals took pride in competing for the championship, never lost honor with the public; it absorbed both those who played and the idlers who stood around commenting on their moves. [Source: “Daily Life in Ancient Rome: the People and the City at the Height the Empire” by Jerome Carcopino, Director of the Ecole Franchise De Rome Member of the Institute of France, Routledge 1936]

When the players felt chess to be too complicated or the necessary apparatus for it too cumbersome a chess-board of sixty squares and men of different color and shape they would fall back on an elementary game of draughts, whose tabulae lusoriae could be improvised anywhere with lines scratched in the ground or cut into the pavement. Many graffiti of such draught-boards have been excavated under the arcades of the Basilica lulia and the forum.

Gaming counters, made of bone and other materials, have been found at Roman baths. According to The Telegraph: The Romans are known to have enjoyed playing board games, and similar finds from elsewhere suggest that playing games was a common activity at bathhouses. [Source: Dalya Alberge, The Telegraph, September 10, 2023]

Children's Games in Ancient Rome

Roman children played games similar to hopscotch, tug-of-war and blind man's bluff. Rock, scissors, paper was played by the Egyptians and Romans. The Romans called it: Bucca, Bucca, Quot, Sunt, Hic . Clear glass marbles made of ash fused with silica were made in Rome. Caesar Augustus was reportedly so fond of marbles that he used to leave his entourage to play marbles with children.

Roman children played games similar to hopscotch, tug-of-war and blind man's bluff. Rock, scissors, paper was played by the Egyptians and Romans. The Romans called it: Bucca, Bucca, Quot, Sunt, Hic . Johnston wrote: “Games of many kinds were played by children, but we can only guess at, the nature of most of them, as we have hardly any formal descriptions. There were games corresponding to our Odd or Even, Blindman’s Buff, Hide and Seek, Jackstones, and Seesaw. Pebbles and nuts were used in games something like our marbles, and there were board-games also. To these may be added, for boys, riding, swimming, and wrestling, although these were taken too seriously, perhaps, to be called games and belonged rather to the training of boys for the duties of citizenship. [Source: “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932) |+|]

“Knucklebones (tali) of sheep and goats, and imitations of them in ivory, bronze, and stone, were used as playthings by children and in gaming by men. Children played our game of jackstones with them: they threw five into the air at once and caught as many as possible on the back of the hand. The length of the tali was greater than their width and they had, therefore, four long sides and two short ends. The ends were rounded off or pointed, so that the tali could not stand on them. Of the four long sides two were broader than the others. Of the two broader sides one was concave, the other convex; of the narrower sides one was flat and the other indented. Since no two sides had the same shape, the tali did not require marking as do our dice, but for convenience they were some times marked with the numbers 1, 3, 4, and 6; the numbers 2 and 5 were omitted. Four tali were used at a time, either thrown into the air from the hand or thrown from a dice box (fritillus); the side on which the bone rested was counted, not that which came up. Thirty-five different throws were possible, each of which had its individual name and value. Four aces were the lowest throw, called the Vulture, while the highest, called the Venus, was when all the tali lay differently. It was this throw that designated the magister bibendi. |+|

A number of bas-reliefs show children apparently playing "nuts," the ancient equivalent of our marbles. This would explain the Saturnalian custom of presenting grown-ups with bags of nuts for the festival ; and it is tempting to suppose that adults often amused themselves in the squares and porticos with trying either to split a nut without crushing it, to throw one onto a heap without knocking the rest down, or as in our game of marbles to hit the opponent's men, or shoot the nut into a hole. [Source: “Daily Life in Ancient Rome: the People and the City at the Height the Empire” by Jerome Carcopino, Director of the Ecole Franchise De Rome Member of the Institute of France, Routledge 1936]

Gambling in Ancient Rome

The Romans loved games of chance and were particularly fond of dice and liked to throw pairs of them from a cup. “At Nuceria, I won 8552 denarii by gaming — fair play!”A wall-painting from Pompeii shows two men sitting at a wooden table, playing a game of dice. Dr Joanne Berry wrote for the BBC: “ They are watched by two other men. It is one of the 13 wall-painting s depicting popular scenes (mostly social activities that might take place in a bar) that adorned the walls of a bar on one of the main streets of Pompeii. “Gambling with dice was illegal in the Roman world, except during the Saturnalia festival, and in Roman literature it is generally frowned upon as an immoral activity associated with drinking and violent arguments. It would appear, however, from the large number of dice found at Pompeii and other Roman towns, that both the law and this moralising attitude were ignored by many inhabitants of the town.” [Source: Dr Joanne Berry, Pompeii Images, BBC, March 29, 2011 |::|]

In the second century Juvenal writes: "When was gambling so reckless? Men come not now with purses to the hazard of the gaming table, but with a treasure chest beside them. What battles will you there see waged with a steward for armour bearer!" ltt And he sadly continues: "Is it a simple form of madness to lose 100,000 sesterces and not have a shirt to give a shivering slave?" In the attempt to put a brake on this suicidal passion, the Caesars had kept up the prohibitions of republican days.[Source: “Daily Life in Ancient Rome: the People and the City at the Height the Empire” by Jerome Carcopino, Director of the Ecole Franchise De Rome Member of the Institute of France, Routledge 1936]

Gambling was forbidden by law, even when no stakes were actually played for. A general indulgence seems to have been granted during the Saturnalia in December, and public opinion allowed old men to play at any time. The laws were hard to enforce, however, as such laws usually are, and large sums were won and lost, not merely at general gambling resorts, but also at private houses. Games of chance, in fact, with high stakes, were one of the greatest attractions at the men’s dinners that have been mentioned . [Source: “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932) |+|]

The most common form of gambling was like our “heads or tails”; coins were used as with us, and the value of the stakes depended on the means of the player. Another common form was our “odd or even”: each player guessed in turn whether the number of counters held by another player was odd or even, and in turn held counters concealed in his outstretched hand for his opponent to guess in like way. The stake was usually the contents of the hand, though side bets were not unusual. In a variation of this game the players tried to guess the actual number of the counters held in the hand. Of more interest, however, were the games of knucklebones and dice.” |+|

Dice in Ancient Rome and Antiquity

Roman dice

Dice have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Some scholars even said the dice were loaded (dice that weighted on one side so that a certain number is more likely to appear) but offered little evidence to back up the claim. The Romans believed dice were invented by the goddess Fortuna.

The Roman emperors Augustus, Domitian, Commodus, Caligula and Claudius were all big fans of dice. Claudius even wrote a treatise on how to be a top player and is said to have wagered 400,000 sesterces on a single roll of the dice ( the annual salary of a soldier was around 1,200 sesterces). He also reportedly had a special board built into his chariot that allowed him to play dice and other games even on the bumpiest of roads. The politician Seneca said that his gambling was such a vice that deserved to rot in a hell where he would eternally pick up dice and place them in a cup that has no bottom.

According to Sophocles the Greeks invented dice during the siege of Troy. Plato claimed that God invented dice and gave specific credit to the Egyptian deity Theuth. Herodotus attributed the invention of dice to the Lydians, who he said introduced them during a time of famine so the masses could keep themselves entertained on days they were not allowed to eat. Another story attributes the game to the Greek hero Palamedes to keep his soldiers from getting bored during the Trojan war. Dice, identical to ones in use today, were found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 2000 B.C.

Dice were usually made of ivory or bone. Like modern dice the numbers were positioned so that the ones on opposite side always added up to seven: 1 and 6, 2 and 5 and 3 and 4. Dice, identical to ones in use today, were found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 2000 B.C. Almost all the ancient civilizations used dice, which developed from astragali — six sided bones, with four flat sides, that came from the ankle bones of hoofed animals. Astragali were used in board games by Egyptians, possibly as early as 3500 B.C. The bones from sheep were most commonly used. Those from antelope were particularly prized.

Dice Games in Ancient Rome

The Romans had dice (tesserae) precisely like our own. The Roman dice were made of ivory, stone, or of close-grained wood, and each side was marked with dots, from one to six in number. Three of them, thrown from the fritillus, were used at a time, as were knucklebones, but the sides that came up counted. The highest possible throw was three sixes, the lowest was three aces. In ordinary gaming the aim of every player seems to have been to throw a higher number than his opponent, but there were also games played with dice on boards with counters, that must have been something like our backgammon, uniting skill with chance. Little more of these is known than their names, but a board used for some such game is known. If one considers how much space is given in our newspapers to the game of baseball, and how impossible it would be for a person who had never seen a game of ball to get a correct idea of one from the newspaper descriptions only, it will not seem strange that we know so little of Roman games. [Source: “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932) |+|]

Playing dice games with tali or tesserae which were thrown from the dice-box onto the ground or gaming table (alveus) would certainly have been an imprudent thing to do in public. Neither would it, probably, have been acceptable for two friends to play navia aut capita (heads or tails) or par intpar (odd or even) under the porticos. Yet Augustus used to invite his family to play par impar in the palace, alloting them 250 denarii apiece so that they might throw themselves into the fun, of the game without anxiety or bitter afterthoughts. As played by the imperial family, the game consisted only of a monotonous series of bets on the odd or even number of pebbles, nuts, or knuckle-bones hidden in the other player's hand. [Source: “Daily Life in Ancient Rome: the People and the City at the Height the Empire” by Jerome Carcopino, Director of the Ecole Franchise De Rome Member of the Institute of France, Routledge 1936]

There was another variety of game derived from "Odd or Even" in which the element of mere chance was somewhat corrected, limited by the quickness of sight and speed of the player, a calculation of probabilities, and a certain psychological flair. This was micatio the still popular morra of southern Italy today. The two players "each raise the fingers of the right hand, varying each time the number raised and the number kept down and call aloud the total of the fingers raised by both," until one or other wins the round by guessing right. Micatio could certainly be played openly in the Rome of the Antonines. From Cicero through the times of Petronius and Frontinus down to Saint Augustine, Latin tradition unanimously used to indicate a man of integrity by the phrase, "You could play micatio with him in the dark." Not until the fourth century did the praejectus urbi feel compelled to banish micatio from the Forum.

Claudius I's Parties and Love of Gambling

dice are very old, these are from Khafajah, Mesopotamia from about 2200 BC

Claudius loved gambling. He wrote a treatise on how to be a top dice player and is said to have wagered 400,000 sesterces on a single role of the dice ( the annual salary of a soldier was around 1,200 sesterces). He also reportedly had a special board built into his chariot that allowed him to play dice and other games even on the bumpiest of roads. The politician Seneca said that his gambling was such a vice that he deserved to rot in a hell where he would eternally pick up dice and place them in a cup that has no bottom.

Suetonius wrote: “He gave frequent and grand dinner parties, as a rule in spacious places, where six hundred guests were often entertained at one time. He even gave a banquet close to the outlet of the Fucine Lake and was well-nigh drowned, when the water was let out with a rush and deluged the place. He always invited his own children to dinner along with the sons and daughters of distinguished men, having them sit at the arms of the couches as they ate, after the old time custom. When a guest was suspected of having stolen a golden bowl the day before, he invited him again the next day, but set before him an earthenware cup. He is even said to have thought of an edict allowing the privilege of breaking wind quietly or noisily at table, having learned of a man who ran some risk by restraining himself through modesty. [Source: Suetonius (c.69-after 122 A.D.) : “De Vita Caesarum:Claudius” (“The Lives of the Caesars: Claudius”), written in A.D. 110, 2 Vols., translated by J. C. Rolfe, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, and London: William Henemann, 1920), Vol. I, pp. 405-497, modernized by J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton]

“He was eager for food and drink at all times and in all places. Once, when he was holding court in the Forum of Augustus and had caught the savor of a meal which was preparing for the Salii [Their feasts were proverbial for luxury; see Hor. Odes I.37.2] in the temple of Mars hard by, he left the tribunal, went up to where the priests were, and took his place at their table. He hardly ever left the dining-room until he was stuffed and soaked; then he went to sleep at once, lying on his back with his mouth open, and a feather was put down his throat to relieve his stomach. He slept but little at a time, for he was usually awake before midnight; but he would sometimes drop off in the daytime while holding court and could hardly be roused when the advocates raised their voices for the purpose. He was immoderate in his passion for women, but wholly free from unnatural vice. He was greatly devoted to gaming, even publishing a book on the art, and he actually used to play while driving, having the board so fitted to his carriage as to prevent his game from being disturbed.

Gambling on Chariot Races in Ancient Rome

The victory of one chariot enriched some, impoverished others; the hope of winning unearned money held the Roman crowd all the more tyrannically in its grip in that the larger proportion was unemployed. The rich would stake a fortune, the poor the last penny of their sportula, on the colors of a stable, the jactio of theif choice. [Source: “Daily Life in Ancient Rome: the People and the City at the Height the Empire” by Jerome Carcopino, Director of the Ecole Franchise De Rome Member of the Institute of France, Routledge 1936]

Hence these explosions of exuberant joy, the outbursts of rage when the victor was proclaimed. Hence this chorus of obtrusive praise and of stifled imprecation round the favorite horses and the trusted charioteers. Hence also the banquet, epulum, served at the close of the day's show to mitigate too vivid disappointments and nip in the bud any inclination toward rioting; hence also these spar stones and these missilia, the hail of eatables, of filled purses, of "raffle tickets" for a ship, a house, a farm, which were rained down on the spectators in the circus at the bidding of Agrippa, of Nero, and of Domitian, and brought the more resourceful some requital and some consolation. Hence too that intense partiality for one jactio or another which the abandoned gamblers among the Caesars manifested notably that of Vitellius and Caracalla for the "Blues."

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) ; “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932); BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history/ ; Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Live Science, Discover magazine, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, The New Yorker, Wikipedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia.com and various other books, websites and publications.

Last updated November 2024