THE HISTORY OF LUDI AND OLYMPIKA · Summer 2022 · Torch: U.S.
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its roots in urania, but others tie it to follis. A follis was a type of ball used in ancient Roman ball games that was characterized by being filled with air. It is said to be the lightest of all the game balls, somewhat resembling the modern, lightweight volleyball we know today. Furthermore, there were many games involving the follis, one of which centered around keeping the ball in the air as long as possible by hitting it back and forth between players. Needless to say, this game shares the same fundamental goal as volleyball.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE
Although
the athletic
innovations of the 19th century mentioned above may seem very recent, the officiality of Ultimate Frisbee is by far the youngest sport on the list. Yet, once again, we can trace its roots back to the classical world. Discus was a very popular ancient sport that made its debut in the first Olympics as a part of the Pentathlon event; the goal was to throw the discus as far as possible. Thus it was a well-respected skill that showed not only an athlete’s strength but also their coordination and accuracy. The discus itself was shaped like a modern-day frisbee, Yet, instead of a frisbee’s lightweight plastic frame, a discus was made out of a variety of heavy materials from stone to lead. Such variation allowed for many different discus weights which was necessary since there were sometimes age divisions in discus competitions. For instance, young boys would be given a lighter discus than full-grown men competing. The discus was a significant part of ancient Greek culture being depicted on pottery and most famously Myron’s Diskobolos sculpture. Its importance was also highlighted in ancient literature. One of its first literary appearances was in Book 23 of Homer’s Iliad in the funeral games for Patroclus.
“... first Epeius grasped the mass of iron and hurled it, but the Achaeans mocked his feeble effort. Then Leonteus, offshoot of Ares, tried and his mark was quickly passed by Ajax, whose mighty throw won him the lead. But when stalwart Polypoetes, grasped and flung it, he sent it far beyond them all…”
Many chess-like games can be
found in antiquity, but the actual
invention of chess, as we know it today, took place in India. The ancient Greeks played a table game with pieces very similar to modern chess in two distinct ways. The first type is vaguely described in literature, and thus details are commonly missing, but the overall game consisted of two players moving individual pieces along the lines of a 36 square board. The second involved the familiar movement of pieces within the squares of the board. Concerning the latter, the Romans played a nearly identical game called ludus latrunculorum. In ludus latrunculorum, each of two players similarly had their own set of game pieces that they could move within the squares of the board. The difference lies in that there are two categories of pieces with distinct abilities and possible movements: “officers” and “soldiers.” Soldier pieces were only allowed to be moved one square forward or backward while officer pieces could be moved any amount of squares in those directions. It is generally agreed upon that both the Greek and Roman forms of the game were a model representation of battle, which makes many of the known rules more understandable. For instance, in ludus latrunculorum, a piece was lost and had to be removed from the board if it was surrounded by two or more opponent pieces. Speaking of the pieces themselves, game pieces were typically carved in the shapes of animals. It is unknown whether a player’s pieces were distinguished from the opponent’s by shape or color. Yet, historians do know that most pieces were made of glass, the Romans’ preferred material. With all this information, all delegates can now understand the inclusion of chess in Ludi!
CHESS
"Egyptian Draughts."