<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>A particularly beautiful marble statue of a boy, a dedication unearthed in Lilaia, Phokis, and on display in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, is an opportunity for us to explore the connection between the boys’ games and the jeopardy in their outcome. Both the expression on the boy’s face and the way he holds an astragal and a goose demand multiple levels of reading. These are related to the intent of the dedication in the first place, the identification of the games requiring an astragal or involving a goose, as well as to the choice of these specific playthings for the particular imagery. Why is he holding a single astragal, and in such a particular way? Why is the goose included in the picture, and what species of <italic>Anatidae</italic> is this? The apparent originality of the motif and of the work, in comparison with other well-known Hellenistic representations in stone or terracotta, dictated our research into the milieu of artistic and symbolic quests of that period, and also a reflection on the choice of the artist to designate a child as the owner of the playthings within a particular spatial and temporal context, perhaps associated with healing frοm a life-threatening fever.</p>
</abstract>

A particularly beautiful marble statue of a boy, a dedication unearthed in Lilaia, Phokis, and on display in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, is an opportunity for us to explore the connection between the boys’ games and the jeopardy in their outcome. Both the expression on the boy’s face and the way he holds an astragal and a goose demand multiple levels of reading. These are related to the intent of the dedication in the first place, the identification of the games requiring an astragal or involving a goose, as well as to the choice of these specific playthings for the particular imagery. Why is he holding a single astragal, and in such a particular way? Why is the goose included in the picture, and what species of Anatidae is this? The apparent originality of the motif and of the work, in comparison with other well-known Hellenistic representations in stone or terracotta, dictated our research into the milieu of artistic and symbolic quests of that period, and also a reflection on the choice of the artist to designate a child as the owner of the playthings within a particular spatial and temporal context, perhaps associated with healing frοm a life-threatening fever.

The Knucklebone and the Goose: Playing and Jeopardy for the Boy of Lilaia

Board Game Studies Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The Knucklebone and the Goose: Playing and Jeopardy for the Boy of Lilaia"}

A particularly beautiful marble statue of a boy, a dedication unearthed in Lilaia, Phokis, and on display in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, is an...

The Knucklebone and the Goose: Playing and Jeopardy for the Boy of Lilaia

Published Online: Apr 26, 2022

Page range: 309 - 337

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0010

Keywords
Boy, goose, astragal, game, divination, healing, children’s statues

© 2022 Despina Ignatiadou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Knucklebone and the Goose: Playing and Jeopardy for the Boy of Lilaia

Published Online: Apr 26, 2022

Page range: 309 - 337

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0010

KeywordsBoy, goose, astragal, game, divination, healing, children’s statues

© 2022 Despina Ignatiadou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Boy, goose, astragal, game, divination, healing, children’s statues