Ball Games, from the Roman Gentleman to the Renaissance Warrior

Though no longer much in vogue as an interpreter of ancient athletics, H.A.Harris makes the very valid point that we must understand Roman sports to have existed at three levels of proficiency and seriousness. At the top were the highly professional chariot races and Olympic-style sports (to which he might have added gladiatorial fights); in the middle and at the bottom were various other games that were not—apparently —practised professionally but which might be used for pure recreation or, conversely, be played in a way that demanded some degree of involvement and expertise. ¹ Chief among these non-professional sports were ball games, ludi pilae, a term that referred indiscriminately to leisurely recreations, games played for exercise, and physically demanding team games, however much they might differ from each other.