As Plato cites (Laws 7, 219b) “Lessons have been invented for the merest infants to learn, by way of play and fun” [Μετὰ παιδιᾶς τε καὶ ἡδονῆς μανθάνειν] or as Maria Montessori said “Play is the work of the child”.
Throughout human history, in all civilizations, worldwide, kids play from the moment of their birth, motivating adults to remember their childhood and interact with them via playing.
Archaeological artifacts reveal that many modern toys were kids’ favorites in the ancient world as well: rattles (platagi or sistron), balls (sphera), dolls (plagona), yo-yos (pinion), spinning tops (stromvos or stromvilos), hoops (trochos), horses (athirma) and figurines of animals in general, wheeled or not.
Scenes of children in pottery, in sculpture and in other items of pictorial arts confirm the continuity of child activities, either physical or mental, though the ages. Parallely, they introduce us to others which no longer exist.
We surely know that children in the ancient world played chess (zatrikion), games with dice (pessia), blind man’s buff (chalki mia), statues (akinitinda) and hide and seek (kriptinda). They also enjoyed bouncing on a see saw (petauron), moving on a swing (eora) and played the knucklebones (astragaloi) with the talus bones of sheeps, goats or oxen. Another popular toy was a spinning disc which made the sound of the wagtail (iygx).
The main material for toymaking was clay, as evidenced by the large number of terracotta figurines that have survived. Items made of stone, bone or glass aren't rare. Toys were also made from leather, wood and cloth. Such toys have not survived due to their delicate construction material.
This Thematic Exhibition opens a window to the everyday life of children in ancient Greece and can be used as a teaching tool in primary education.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
