Harpastum

Harpastum, ancient Roman fresco

Harpastum, also known as harpustum, was a form of ball game played in the Roman Empire. The Romans also referred to it as the small ball game. The ball used was small (not as large as a follis, paganica, or football-sized ball) and hard, probably about the size and solidity of a softball and was stuffed with feathers. The word harpastum is the latinisation of the Greek ἁρπαστόν (harpaston),[1] the neuter of ἁρπαστός (harpastos), "carried away",[2] from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpazo), "to seize, to snatch".[3]

This game was apparently a Romanized version of a Greek game called phaininda (Greek: φαινίνδα[4]), or of another Greek game called episkyros (Greek: ἐπίσκυρος).[5][6][7][8][9][10] It involved considerable speed, agility and physical exertion. The two teams needed to keep the ball on their side of the field as long as they could.[11]

Little is known about the exact rules of the game, but sources indicate the game was a violent one with players often ending up on the ground. In Greece, a spectator (of the Greek form of the game) once had his leg broken when he got caught in the middle of play.[citation needed]

In the Middle Ages, the game is thought to have inspired an Italian revival played in Florence known as calcio storico fiorentino, which is played to this day.[12]

  1. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles. "harpastum". A Latin Dictionary. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ἁρπαστός". A Greek-English Lexicon. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ἁρπάζω". A Greek-English Lexicon. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "φαινίνδα". A Greek-English Lexicon. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  5. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007 Edition: "In ancient Greece a game with elements of football, episkuros, or harpaston, was played, and it had migrated to Rome as harpastum by the 2nd century BC".
  6. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ἐπίσκυρος". A Greek-English Lexicon. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  7. ^ H. A. Harris, Sport in Greece and Rome, Cornell University Press, on Google books
  8. ^ Nigel M. Kennell, The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education and Culture in Ancient Sparta, The University of North Carolina Press, 1995, on Google books
  9. ^ Origin of Ball Games Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Nigel B. Crowther, Sport in Ancient Times (Praeger Series on the Ancient World), Praeger Publishers, January 2007
  11. ^ Team, Editorial (2021-09-01). "Harpastum: The Ancient Roman Empire Ball Game". History Of Soccer. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  12. ^ "Harpastum a Roma. Il gioco, antenato del Calcio Storico Fiorentino, il 24 aprile nella capitale". La Cronaca di Roma. 5 April 2022.