Ball Games

Romans are renowned for playing a variety of balls for recreation and physical fitness, one of the Ancient Roman Games and Recreation. It specifically came in three varieties: pilla, follis, and paganica. The follis, which was larger and inflated, can be recognized as a precursor to football since the pilla was a small hand-held ball that was very well-liked. Similar to how the paganica was discussed in ancient books without providing crucial information about it.

Instead of kicking the balls, the boys and men preferred to pass and catch them. Although they also passed it around with a stick, throwing was their preferred flex. Romans throwing balls at each other at Thermae Titi (Titus' Baths) is depicted by the artist Fabullus as evidence of how popular it was. The gymnasium or the bathhouses were where they played ball the most. Even the sick were encouraged to play ball to heal by their doctors.

The most popular dodgeball game in Rome was called harpastum, a Latinization of the Greek verb "to snatch." Even while we don't know much about the regulations, we do know that it called for a lot of energy and agility. Numerous historical records of this game raise the possibility that it was similar to rugby as we know it today. In order to play harpastum, a pilla was utilized. A tombstone depicting a youngster holding a miniature harpastum with hexagonal and pentagonal designs like a football may be seen in the Croatian town of Sinj.