guy Posted August 16, 2022 Report Share Posted August 16, 2022 (edited) Divination game pieces from the Hellenistic period were found in the Maresha-Bet Guvrin National Park, Israel. They were made from animal bone and had inscriptions of Greek gods and goddesses. Quote Known as astragaloi, the practise of astragalomancy was a game of chance or divination played in antiquity by the Greeks and Romans, with some examples from the Etruscans and near Eastern civilisations. Astragalomancy was performed in Ancient Greece through the rolling of astragaloi and subsequent consultation of “dice oracles”. To obtain an oracle, either five astragaloi were rolled at once, or one astragalos (also called astragali) was rolled five consecutive times. The pieces date from around 2300 years ago and have inscriptions of Greek gods and goddesses, such as: Aphrodite (goddess of sexual love and beauty), Eros (god of love and sex), Hermes (herald of the gods), Hera (goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women in childbirth), and Nike (winged goddess of victory). Some of the pieces also have inscriptions such as: “Robber”, “Stop, and “You are burnt” engraved. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/08/archaeologists-find-ancient-game-made-from-bones/144441?amp Edited August 16, 2022 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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