Recreation and Leisure

The Greeks gave as much importance to buildings for entertainment and leisure activities as they did their architecture for business and political purposes, and Alexander’s contemporaries, like the king himself, were great fans of entertainment of all kinds.

Among the favorite activities of Greek men were good conversation, athletics, and politics. In the afternoon, men would attend a lecture, exercise at a gymnasium, or bathe in a public bathhouse. Relaxing at the public baths was a primary form of recreation. Some of the baths contained gambling rooms where men would throw dice or play a game called knucklebones, or five-stones, which was similar to jacks.

Dinner parties were also a favorite leisure activity of the Macedonians and the Greeks. Following dinner, wealthy men often held a symposium, or drinking party. At these all-male festivities, guests would engage in intellectual discussions about political or scientific topics, taking turns to speak. They would also pose riddles to one another. A guest who was unable to solve the riddle would have to drink a glass of salted wine as punishment. Acrobats, singers, musicians, and dancers entertained at these gatherings, and there were few events that did not include music.

Younger Greeks had their own forms of amusement as well. Like their elders, teenagers played knucklebones, a game similar to dice that is still popular in some places today. Players throw and catch five small objects, originally sheep’s knucklebones, in different ways. Teens also played with balls and tops, and played hopscotch and a game that is similar to marbles but which used nuts instead.

Board games were another popular entertainment, mostly among adults. Many of these boards featured a circular path that had to be traversed to win. The Greeks invented a feature that is still a common part of many board games today-the path with squares containing messages of reward or punishment coming to any player who lands there.

Persians enjoyed singing songs, storytelling, and reciting poetry. They played a variety of musical instruments, including harps, flutes, and tambourines.