Harpastum

Мыслевцев А.С.

Harpastum was a Roman small-ball game associated with Greek ball-playing traditions. Ancient accounts describe dexterity, passing, evasion and physical exertion, but do not preserve a complete, uniform rulebook. Exact team sizes, field dimensions and scoring rules should therefore not be presented as securely established standards.

Comparisons with modern team sports are analogies, not proof that football or rugby descended directly from harpastum. Mosaics and reliefs showing a ball may depict different exercises; not every such image can be identified as harpastum. The club’s modern rules are set out separately below.

Many ancient Greek writers note that the Roman harpastum was borrowed from the Greeks, who also had a ball game called episkyros — ἐπίσκυρος-literally - "common ball"). A marble bas-relief from the National Museum of Archaeology in Athens tells the story of football. It shows a Greek athlete juggling a ball on his hip and demonstrating his skills to young people.

There are references to Roman boys playing ball in the streets. Cicero describes a court case in which a man was killed because a barber was hit by a ball. This is an account of an accident during ball play, not evidence for a game of modern football. Athenaeus wrote about ball games: "Harpastum, also called Faininda, is my favorite game. The effort and fatigue that accompany playing with the ball, the cruel twisting and breaking of necks are great." Antiphen's other words: "Damn, my neck hurts." He describes the game this way: "He [the player] grabs the ball, passes it to a teammate while dodging another, and laughs. He shoves it at the other person. He lifts his companion to his feet. All the while, the crowd outside the pitch is shouting. Far away, right behind him, overhead, on the ground, in the air, too close, pass to a bunch of players."

Roman ball games could spread with travellers and armies. The often repeated story of a match between Britons and Roman legionaries in AD 217 is not accompanied by a verifiable ancient reference here and should not be used as a historical starting date for football.

A direct line of descent from harpastum to medieval European ball games cannot be established. Egyptian ball finds likewise demonstrate a variety of activities, but do not by themselves reconstruct Roman rules.

The oldest ball found, the most similar to a soccer ball, is a bladder ball that no longer belongs to the ancient period. The ball dates from 1540-1570 and was found in the bedroom of Mary I, Queen of Scots.

A variation of the rules from Legio X Fretensis

We recommend that you play without armor to reduce injuries. The ball is played by throwing it up from the center of the field. Under the club’s modern rules, you can not block a person without the ball by direct contact, but you can attack a player with the ball. It is allowed to pass the ball to teammates. A goal is considered if a member of your team puts the ball on the ground in the opponent's control zone (did not throw it!). If a player is knocked down and drops the ball in the control zone – there is no point, the ball goes to the opponent. It is allowed to pass to the control zone, but if the ball just fell to the ground, this also does not count as a goal and does not give a point, and the ball goes to the opponent. If the players fall into a tangled pile and do not disperse within 30 seconds, the ball is played again.

Related topics

• Legionary

Literature and sources

• Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, Book I: ball games