TOYS OF ANCIENT GREEKS

What role did games play in the life of the Greeks from antiquity to Byzantium? This is the subject of an excellent volume with rich illustrations, the product of a long and painstaking effort, revealing unknown aspects of the private life of our ancestors. Hellenes, aei paides este! (Greeks you are always children- Plato, Timaeus, 22b) Obviously, the above quote, from Plato’s Timaeus, contains a timeless truth: games, a distinct cultural product, had a decisive influence on the psyche and temperament of Greeks, perhaps even being their refuge in times of trouble… Games, then, throughout the years, and in this case from prehistoric antiquity to Byzantium, a period of about 3.000 years, give us the opportunity to see the intelligence and ingenuity of our ancestors, and to better know their daily needs and habits. Games for the young and the old, for the mind and body, erotic games, lucky games… The list is long and amazes us for one more reason: the amount of them have stood the test of time and reached our days. Dolls, football, chess, backgammon are some of the best known. Recording and showcasing them, with irrefutable evidence of their depiction in their time, broadens our knowledge in an entertaining way and creates a thread of continuity in our culture.