More Greek Alphabet: Greek Games
Greek Alphabet: Eta and Theta
The ancient Greeks loved to play games, and were especially fond of contests that involved demonstrations of physical prowess. Every four years, athletes would gather at Olympia for several days of festivities and competition. The games began after the athletes made a sacrifice, and pledged an oath to Zeus. To prevent cheating, competitors wore no clothing during their events, and women were forbidden into the stadium.
While the men were competing, women often amused themselves with less active games such as checkers, dice, and marbles. One such marble game was Eta Ball, in which players attempted to deposit striped or solid balls into their opponents pockets. Possession of the black ball eliminated a contestant from further play, and cheating was punishable with a blow from a long stick with a golden handle. Men couldn’t play Eta Ball because they were naked, and had no pockets.
Women pledged an oath and sacrificed blue chalk to Theta, the goddess of Eta Ball. Blue chalk was made from Azurite, a naturally occurring mineral often found near Malachite. Although it was indeed a very beautiful blue, Theta would often rack her brains trying to understand why the women gave her chalk instead of gold.
So ends our history lesson for today.
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