Petteia and ancient Greek board games
Ancient texts and objects provide evidence of Greek board games. They do not give us a complete set of rules. Our game combines that evidence with modern choices.
A name for games with pieces
Greek gaming vocabulary varies. Petteia and words related to pessoi refer to pieces and games with pieces. They should not be treated as the name of one unchanging game played everywhere throughout antiquity.
What ancient authors tell us
Homer: players outside the palace
In Book I of the Odyssey, Penelope’s suitors play outside Odysseus’ palace. The passage shows people playing, without explaining the rules. A. T. Murray’s English translation uses “draughts”; this does not identify the game as modern draughts.
Homer, Odyssey I · Murray’s English translation (1919) ↗
Plato: a player unable to move
In Republic VI, 487b–c, Adeimantus compares being unable to answer Socrates with inexperienced players being blocked by a skilled opponent. The comparison suggests the importance of skill and blocking, without specifying the board or moves.
Plato · French and Greek source ↗
Polybius: isolation and encirclement
Histories I, 84 compares Hamilcar’s manoeuvres with those of a skilled player. This suggests tactics of isolation and encirclement, rather than a complete rulebook.
Polybius · French and Greek source ↗
Pollux: the city game
Roland May’s 1995 study reports Pollux’s description of polis, “city”: pieces of two colours compete, and capture is by enclosure between enemy pieces. We refer to Pollux through May, not through a new direct translation from Greek.
Roland May, Les jeux de table en Grèce et à Rome (1995), pp. 56–57 · French ↗
Archaeological evidence
Counters and playing surfaces provide material evidence. Despina Ignatiadou’s study examines finds and contexts in northern Greece. A board alone cannot tell us the moves or winning conditions: identifying an object and assigning rules are separate questions.
Read Ignatiadou’s original study in English (PDF) ↗
Other ancient games
The Greek five-lines game, pente grammai, is distinct from games of encirclement. The university project Locus Ludi offers reconstructions of ancient games, including five lines and Roman latrunculi, explaining gaps in the evidence.
Locus Ludi · ancient games and reconstructions ↗
Our modern choices
Capture by enclosure and blocking have support in the sources. Our 6 × 6 and 8 × 8 boards, starting ranks, long straight moves, winning thresholds and draw rules are choices made for this modern version.
Petteia.fr does not claim to reproduce one specific Greek game exactly. It offers a way to play, compare evidence and consider how reconstructions are made.
Plan a classroom activityRead our rules
Historical sources follow the French edition, checked on 1 November 2026. External sources open separately so your game stays open.