At Greek drinking parties in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, guests reclined on couches and competed at kottabos — flicking the sediment from the bottom of their wine cups at a bronze target across the room. The standard rig was a small disc balanced on top of a lamp stand; a direct hit knocked it down onto a larger disc below with a bell-like clang. Winners collected cakes, sweetmeats, or kisses, and in Sicily, where the game apparently originated, special circular buildings were constructed so players could be arranged around the target and take turns in rapid succession.
The playwright Antiphanes described the technique: "the kottabos player puts the index finger of the right-hand through the handle of the drinking cup, palm upwards; and the remaining fingers are spread as playing a flute." Skill at kottabos was rated as highly as excellence in throwing the javelin. Players dedicated each throw to a lover before letting fly — a hit or a miss was read as an omen of how the romance would go. One vase shows a woman named Smikra mid-throw with the inscription "I am throwing this for you, Leagros."
Previously:
• Dwile flonking, the ancient pub sport invented in 1966
