DICE AND COUNTERS
bone counters
Games involving dice and counters were popular in Roman times, and many examples have been discovered. The Emperor Augustus was very fond of gambling with dice, and the Roman soldiers present at Jesus’ crucifixion used dice to decide who was to have his clothing (John 19.23–4).
Roman dice and counters were often beautifully crafted, and were made from a variety of materials such as ivory, bone, glass, semi-precious stones and metal. Try designing your own, perhaps showing something which is important to you.
counters: the one on the left means ‘bad luck’ – perhaps the player had to miss a throw
ivory counters
You can make dice from clay or small cubes of wood. The numbers were marked with an outer ring and an inner dot, as shown. Counters can be made from clay or Sculpey modelling plastic (you could use orange Sculpey to look like agate).
glass counters
metal die
Some dice were more elaborate. Have a go at making one in the shape of a squatting man (see left) which must be able to fall on any of its six sides. The numbers are marked with holes.
ivory counters
You can also make your own Roman dice-shaker. These had ridges inside to catch the edges of the dice and make sure they were properly shaken. Roll a rectangle of clay, add clay sausages and join edges to form a cylinder. Join to circular base.
A Roman gaming board can be made from wood or clay marked with squares. You will need to make two sets of counters: one with holes and one without. Play the game like draughts.
A game of Jactus
Jactus (meaning ‘thrown’) was a game for two or more players. From clay, model the goddess Venus and a dog. You will also need a coin (preferably a Roman replica!), a dice-shaker (see top of page) and a die made from wood, clay or Sculpey.
Venus token
dog token
Players take turns to throw the die. Two sixes in a row wins Venus, two threes the dog, and two ones the coin.
You must give a token up to another player if he or she throws the required score while a token is in your possession. The aim is to win all three tokens - not easy!
coin token
THE GODS VISIT THE ARENA
PERFORM A ROMAN PLAY
The first arena was built in 53BC. Arenas could hold 50,000 to 250,000 spectators, and were designed so that the performers’ voices could be heard from every seat. The entertainments and contests offered to the public were frequently cruel and violent.
Here is a play for a whole class or a minimum of 11 children which involves a contest of a gentler nature!
Characters: Narrator, Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, Momus, bull, man, house, company of gods.
Narrator/s: Honoured guests and distinguished nobles, our company of actors takes pride in presenting to you a fi...