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By focusing on the challenging translation of the so-called basilicus iactus mentioned in Plautus’ play Curculio, this article attempts to provide a new contribution to the study of Latin play culture. On the basis of evidence from within the text, in particular regarding the dramatic identity of its protagonists and the narrative isotopies present, and thanks to evidence from outside the play, specifically from some ancient Greek cultic traditions, this research proposes to understand the expression basilicus iactus not as “king’s throw” but as “queen’s throw”, with an implicit reference to the goddess Venus implied by the knucklebones throw that took its name from the deity., Volgendo l’attenzione alla problematica traduzione del cosiddetto basilicus iactus menzionato nella commedia Curculio di Plauto questo articolo cerca di fornire un nuovo contributo allo studio della cultura ludica latina. Sulla scorta di evidenze interne al testo, in particolare a proposito dell’identità drammatica dei suoi protagonisti e delle isotopie narrative presenti, e grazie a testimonianze esterne alla commedia, nello specifico alcune tradizioni cultuali greche e magno-greche, questa ricerca propone di intendere l’espressione basilicus iactus non come “colpo del re” bensì come “colpo della regina”, con un rinvio implicito alla dea Venus e al colpo degli astragali che dalla divinità prendeva il nome.

Volgendo l’attenzione alla problematica traduzione del cosiddetto basilicus iactus menzionato nella commedia Curculio di Plauto questo articolo cerca di fornire un nuovo contributo allo studio della cultura ludica latina. Sulla scorta di evidenze interne al testo, in particolare a proposito dell’identità drammatica dei suoi protagonisti e delle isotopie narrative presenti, e grazie a testimonianze esterne alla commedia, nello specifico alcune tradizioni cultuali greche e magno-greche, questa ricerca propone di intendere l’espressione basilicus iactus non come “colpo del re” bensì come “colpo della regina”, con un rinvio implicito alla dea Venus e al colpo degli astragali che dalla divinità prendeva il nome. By focusing on the challenging translation of the so-called basilicus iactus mentioned in Plautus’ play Curculio, this article attempts to provide a new contribution to the study of Latin play culture. On the basis of evidence from within the text, in particular regarding the dramatic identity of its protagonists and the narrative isotopies present, and thanks to evidence from outside the play, specifically from some ancient Greek cultic traditions, this research proposes to understand the expression basilicus iactus not as “king’s throw” but as “queen’s throw”, with an implicit reference to the goddess Venus implied by the knucklebones throw that took its name from the deity

The ERC Locus Ludi investigates the history and the dynamics of ancient ludic culture. Play and games provide a privileged access to past societal norms, values, identities, and the collective imaginary. People play all over the world and have done so throughout history, but they do not play the same games, nor do they assign the same meaning and function to play. Our modern western concepts of ���play��� and ���game��� differ in several respects from the Greek and Roman ones that this chapter attempts to define.

Play and games provide a privileged access to past societal norms, values, identities, and collective imaginary. People play all over the world and throughout history, but they do not play the same games, nor do they attribute the same meaning and function to play. The aim of this pluridisciplinary volume is to investigate how this past patrimony can be methodologically reconstructed. Three sections address first how the Ancients defined play and games by analysing their vocabulary in order to reconstruct an emic definition. Beyond the common association of child and play (in Greek, paidia, ‘game’, pais, the child, and paideia, ‘education’, share the same root, in Latin ludus means ‘play’, ‘school’, ‘rhetorical games’), the views are more complex and nuanced. Identifying ludic material and practices archaeologically as well as in iconography is also a debatable issue. The second section examines the sources available and their bias associated with literary genre, such as oniromancy, proverbs, epigrams and the lexicon of Pollux. A major challenge is the reconstruction of a mostly oral patrimony, of lost children’s lore and agency. The third section examines the transmission process of these practices from one generation to the next, addressing crucial issues about continuities and discontinuities, as well as about the definition of a “traditional” game. This collective volume is the first major publication of the ERC Advanced project Locus Ludi. The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity (PI Véronique Dasen), that aims at constructing the foundations of a new vision of ancient ludic culture thanks to a pluridisciplinary approach.

Etiological narratives about the origins of humankind, the invention of skills and the transformation of social habits are one of the most important forms of cultural representation of a social phenomenon by a society. In these narrative elaborations, the enunciators, the protagonists of the story, and the recipients of the narratives share a collective representation of their past, making some cultural categories more salient than others and giving value to one narrative syntax over another. The aim of this contribution is to study the narrative constants and cultural categories that ancient societies developed to represent the introduction of play and games among humans

“Trictrac”, “checkers”, “chess”, so many misleading translations given over time for the Greek word πεσσεία which was actually a form of playful activity practiced with pawns on a board and whose origins extend back to the Trojan War according to traditional stories of ancient Greece. Far from being limited to a question of lexicon and choice of translation, this article aims to understand the specificities of such a form of game from the analysis of the circumstances of its invention and the identity of its author, namely the hero Palamedes. By a detailed analysis of the passages concerning Palamedes and his invention of games, from Gorgias to Philostratus, this contribution is intended to allow a better understanding of how far the πεσσεία was linked to a very particular modality of the divine action of Palamedes, namely his prophetic and mantic power that made him a hero of the semiotic structuring of space.

Ce dossier est issu d’une série de journées d’étude organisées à l’Université de Fribourg entre 2017 et 2019 sur le thème du jeu et de l’apprentissage ainsi que des rapports entre rites et jeux. Ces rencontres scientifiques se sont déroulées dans le cadre du projet de recherche Locus Ludi. The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity, soutenu par l'European Research Council (ERC) consacré au jeu en tant que véhicule de normes et de valeurs qui construisent une société dans toutes ses dimensions, sociale, religieuse, politique et genrée &nbsp

Lexique des jeux

Jouer avec un chien

Palamède et l’invention des jeux

Jouer avec les animaux

Véronique Dasen, Erich Sanchez, "Jeu rime avec plaisir", p. 12-16. Ulrich Schädler, Marco Vespa, "Bons ou mauvais jeux?", p. 30-34.

Modèle de noix en terre cuite

Poster session within the ERC Locus Ludi. The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity, at the DARIAH conference, Neuchâtel, november 29.11.2018. For more see: https://locusludi.ch. Presentation of the aims and contente of the ERC project Locus Ludi. This pluridisciplinary project reconstructs the history of ludic culture in the Greek world, from the birth of the city-state, c. 800 BCE, to the Roman conquest in 146 BCE, and in the Roman world from the Republican age, c. 500 BCE, to the end of the Western Roman Empire, c. 500 CE. It will provide the first comprehensive open access collection of written, archaeological,and iconographic evidence transmitting cultural identities as well as an intangible heritage. Downloadable models of games for training and research, as well as up-to-date material for schools, museums, and libraries will also be available. &nbsp

Le cerceau et la petite balle sont à la fois des jeux et des sports d’origine grecque mais qui furent pratiqués dans l’empire gréco-romain. Antylle, un médecin grec pneumatique de l’époque impériale dont les textes sont principalement préservés dans les Collections médicales d›Oribase, a consacré un chapitre à chacun de ces jeux dans son traité Sur les remèdes. Ces passages peu connus et peu exploités donnent le point de vue d’un médecin sur ces sports. Dans le cas du cerceau, le témoignage d’Antylle gagne à être confronté avec les documents iconographiques qui représentent le jeu du cerceau, tandis que pour la petite balle, le texte du médecin pneumatique peut être mis en relation avec le traité contemporain de Galien Sur l’exercice de la petite balle. L’étude de ces deux chapitres permet ainsi de préciser les enjeux historiques et sociologiques de ces deux activités sportives. Elle permet aussi de questionner les règles de ces jeux oubliés. Elle vise enfin à montrer les vertus médicales et les bienfaits sur le corps et sur l’âme que les médecins assignent à ces deux activités. Hoop and small ball are both games and sports that have a Greek origin, but were still practiced in the Graeco-Roman empire. Antyllus, a Pneumatist physician of the imperial age whose texts were preserved by Oribasius in his Medical Collections, devoted one chapter on each game in his book On remedies. These passages, relatively unknown and unexploited, give the point of view of a physician on these sports. As far as the hoop is concerned, Antyllus’ testimony can be compared with iconographic documents which pictured the hoop game. For the ball game, the chapter of the Pneumatist physician can be considered in the light of a contemporary treatise by Galen, The exercise with the small ball. By studying Antyllus’ chapters together with these other evidence, the historical and sociological background of both sport activities can be pointed out as well as the rules of these forgotten games. This paper also aims to show the medical values and the benefits on both body and mind attributed by the physicians to these activities.

Please scroll for an English abstract. En franchissant le Rubicon, César n’a pas seulement changé le destin de la République romaine, mais aussi celui de toute la culture populaire qui allait naître. Deux mille ans plus tard, la figure de César au bord du Rubicon est iconique. Encore plus iconiques sont les paroles qu’il aurait proférées : Alea iacta est. Le fait qu’une partie de notre culture soit marquée par des mots jamais prononcés sous cette forme constitue un paradoxe qui n’est d’ailleurs pas unique dans l’histoire de la réception de l’Antiquité. L’expression Alea iacta est provient d’une version latine des mots que César est supposé avoir énoncé en grec et à l’impératif. La vérité historique joue cependant un rôle secondaire. Ce qui retient notre attention ici est l’utilisation de l’héritage antique par les époques postérieures pour exprimer leurs propres pensées et idées. La réception devient donc un miroir au travers duquel nous pouvons apprendre à mieux connaître ces époques passées ainsi que la nôtre. Cette contribution se concentre sur la réception la plus éloignée de César en termes de temps et de contenu, c’est-à-dire sur le rôle de l’expression Alea iacta est aux XX e et xxi e siècles dans la culture des jeunes, créée par des adultes, après le déclin du latin dans l’éducation, qui semble couper les nouvelles générations de la référence antique. L’analyse d’exemples de différentes sphères linguistiques (anglais, allemand, français et polonais) montre comment notre jeu avec l’Antiquité perdure aujourd’hui et sur quel bord du Rubicon nous nous trouvons avec les jeunes générations. By crossing the Rubicon, Caesar did not only change the destiny of the Roman Republic, but also that of all the popular culture that was about to flourish. Two thousand years later, the image of Caesar on the banks of the Rubicon is iconic. Even more iconic are the words he is said to have spoken: Alea iacta est. The fact that part of the code of our culture actually comes from words never articulated in this form constitutes a paradox — which is not unique in the history of the reception of Antiquity. The expression Alea iacta est is a Latin version of the words which Caesar supposedly pronounced in Greek and in the imperative. Historical truth, however, plays a secondary role here. What interests us is the use made by the following epochs of the heritage of Antiquity to express their own thoughts and ideas. Thanks to this, the reception becomes a mirror through which we can get to know these times better as well as ourselves, also today. This contribution focuses on the most distant reception of Caesar in terms of time and content, that is the functioning of the expression Alea iacta est in the 20th and 21st centuries in the culture of young people, created by adults, after the decrease of Latin in education, which seems to cut the new generations of the ancient heritage. The study of examples from different linguistic spheres (English, German, French and Polish) shows how our game with Antiquity continues today and on which side of the Rubicon we find ourselves with the younger generations., Publié avec le soutien du Conseil Européen de la Recherche (ERC) dans le cadre du projet ERC advanced Locus Ludi. The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity basé à l'Université de Fribourg — programme de recherche et d'innovation de l'Union Européenne Horizon 2020 (contrat de financement no 741520). Site du projet : https://locusludi.ch/