Pentelitha

Pentelitha is the name of a Greco-Roman game of skill and means something like "five stones" ( ancient Greek πέντε pénte "five" and λίθος líthos "stone"). The Romans adopted this game from the Greeks .

Contrary to what the name suggests, Pentelitha was not played with stones, but with astragals , the ankle bones of goats and sheep.

Game flow

Five astragals were picked up, thrown into the air and had to be caught again with the back of the hand. The astragals caught on the back of the hand were then thrown into the air again and now had to be caught with a gripping movement, whereby the back of the hand had to point upwards.

See also: Roman games