Published April 26, 2022 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Rolling Dice for Divination, Gambling and Homeromanteia

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Description

Everyday tools such as dice and knucklebones are associated with gambling and divinatory books founded upon the use of Homeric epics. Papyrological documents about this practice date back to Roman Imperial times. Verses drawn from Iliad and Odyssey were currently assigned to a divinely inspired wisdom. The preface to Homeromanteia shows a link with religious and divinatory ideas current at that time (hilastic invocations, hemeromancy, cledonism).

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
Locus Ludi - Locus Ludi: The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity 741520