CHRESTOS D.
LAZOS
By researching sources spanning 3,200 years, 150 games have been recorded. It is a fascinating journey through space and time, which at the same time becomes an unpredictable game for both the reader and the researcher who undertook it. The author has attempted a unique endeavour in Greek bibliography—to document the games of our ancient and Byzantine ancestors.
And the result was impressive: 150 games were recorded over a period of approximately 3,500 years in a 770-page volume, richly illustrated with photographs. We discover the meaning and importance of play in the lives of the ancient Greeks, the inventiveness that characterized their games, and above all how many of these games have survived to the present day, remaining just as beloved and popular.
We encounter Ajax and Achilles playing chess, Zeno playing a game of backgammon, courtesans playing kottabos, boys and girls playing ball games, myths and stories surrounding games; we admire beautiful dolls, learn about unknown games, and ultimately conclude that the playful nature of the ancient Greeks was inexhaustible.
