Tabula (game)
Tabula (
History
According to the
In the epigram, Zeno was white (red in illustration) and had one point with seven pieces on it, three points with two pieces and two singletons, pieces that stand alone on a point and were therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opposing piece. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5, and 6. Zeno could not move to a space occupied by two opposing (black) pieces. The white and black pieces were so distributed on the points that the only way to use all of the three results, as required by the game rules, was to
Tabula was most likely a later refinement of ludus duodecim scriptorum, with the board's middle row of points removed, and only the two outer rows remaining.[5]
Today, the word Tavli (τάβλι) is still used to refer to various tables games in Greece,[7] as well as in Syria and Turkey (as tavla), Bulgaria (as tabla) and in Romania (as table); in these countries, tables games remain popular in town squares and cafes.
References
Citations
- ^ Rich 1881, p. 641: "TAB'ULA (πλάξ, σανίς, πίναξ). A plank or board..."
- ^ a b c d e f g Austin 1934, pp. 202–205.
- ^ Lapidge & O'Keefe 2005, p. 60.
- ^ Barney et al. 2006, XVIII.lx–lxix.2 (p. 371): "lx. The gaming-board (De tabula) Dicing (alea), that is, the game played at the gaming-board (tabula), was invented by the Greeks during lulls of the Trojan War by a certain soldier named Alea, from whom the practice took its name. The board game is played with a dice-tumbler, counters, and dice."
- ^ a b c Austin 1935, pp. 76–82.
- ^ a b Bell 2012, pp. 33–35.
- ^ Koukoules 1948, pp. 200–204.
Sources
- Austin, Roland G. (1934). "Zeno's Game of τάβλι". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 54 (2): 202–205. JSTOR 626864.
- Austin, Roland G. (February 1935). "Roman Board Games. II". Greece & Rome. 4 (11): 76–82. JSTOR 640979.
- Barney, Stephen A.; Lewis, W.J.; Beach, J. A.; Berghof, Oliver (2006). The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-13-945616-6.
- Bell, Robert Charles (2012) [1979]. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. New York: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486145570.
- Koukoules, Phaidon (1948). Vyzantinon Vios kai Politismos. Vol. 1. Collection de l'institut français d'Athènes.
- Lapidge, Michael; O'Keefe, Katherine O'Brien (2005). Latin Learning and English Lore: Studies in Anglo-Saxon Literature for Michael Lapidge. Toronto: Toronto University Press. ISBN 978-0-80-208919-9.
- Rich, Anthony (1881). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. New York: D. Appleton & Company.
External links
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