Five Lines
Ancient Greek tables game with five lines.
Five Lines (πέντε γραμμαί) is the name scholars give to a board game played in ancient Greece. Two opponents each moved five pieces along a board marked with five parallel lines, with the roll of a die probably determining how far a piece advanced. The likely goal was to be the first to get all one's pieces onto the middle line, known as the "sacred line." No full rulebook survives, but modern researchers like Schädler and Kidd have proposed reconstructions.
Gameboards—five lines with circles at their ends—have been unearthed across Greece, sometimes carved into temple floors. The oldest known comes from Anagyros in Attica, dating to the 700s BCE. Attic vases from around 500 BCE depict Ajax and Achilles playing the game; around a dozen such vases exist. (Some sources mistakenly call the game in these images *polis*.) The earliest written reference is by the poet Alcaeus of Mytilene, circa 600 BCE. Later, Julius Pollux, in his *Onomasticon* (9.97–98), describes the game without naming it: "on the five lines from either side there was a middle one called the sacred line. And moving a piece already arrived there gave rise to the proverb 'he moves the piece from the sacred line.'" By Pollux's time, the game had likely died out, as he treats it as history.
Gameplay involved two players, each with five pieces, moving counter-clockwise. The number of lines wasn't strictly fixed at five—more lines meant more pieces. Dice were used, but the exact method of advancing is unknown. The "sacred line" (or "holy line") was the target; having all pieces there was the victory condition, so moving a piece off it was rare. Alcaeus mentions doing so "to gain the upper hand," and Stephen Kidd interprets this as an aggressive move. Based on the Locus Ludi project, two reconstructions exist: a race version without knock-offs, and a knock-off version where landing on an opponent's piece sends it off the board, forcing the opponent to re-enter it. The proverb about moving from the sacred line appears often in ancient Greek texts.
- field
- Board game
- culture
- Ancient Greek
- known_for
- Five-line board game with sacred line
- earliest_evidence
- 8th century BCE, Anagyros, Attica
- first_written_mention
- Alcaeus of Mytilene, around 600 BCE
Lore & Background
Gameboards consisting of five parallel lines with circles at the ends have been found at many sites in ancient Greece, sometimes carved into temple floors. The earliest known examples were found in Anagyros, Attica, and date to the 8th century BCE. Attic vases dated to around 500 BCE show Ajax and Achilles playing the game, with around a dozen extant. Some sources describe the game played in this art as polis, but this is likely a mistake. The first written mention is by Alcaeus of Mytilene, around 600 BCE. Later, Julius Pollux describes the game in Onomasticon (9.97-98), writing: 'on the five lines from either side there was a middle one called the sacred line. And moving a piece already arrived there gave rise to the proverb "he moves the piece from the sacred line."' Pollux does not give the game a name, but it is usually called Five Lines by scholars. At this point, the game had likely already stopped being played, since he described it as an element of history.
Reader's Guide
Five Lines is significant as one of the earliest known board games from ancient Greece, with archaeological evidence dating to the 7th century BCE. Its appearance on over 160 Attic vases around 500 BCE, depicting heroes Ajax and Achilles, indicates cultural importance. The game's central 'sacred line' and the proverb about moving a piece from it show its integration into Greek language and thought. Although no complete description survives, scholarly reconstructions by Schädler and Kidd, as well as the project Locus Lundi, propose two versions: a race game without knock-offs and a knock-off version where pieces can be sent off the board. The game's legacy includes its mention by Alcaeus and Julius Pollux, and its role in understanding ancient Greek leisure and gaming practices. The uncertainty about rules and the possibility of more than five lines highlight the challenges of reconstructing ancient games.
Did You Know?
- The earliest known gameboards for Five Lines were found in Anagyros, Attica, dating to the 8th century BCE.
- Attic vases dated to around 500 BCE show Ajax and Achilles playing the game, but only about a dozen such vases survive.
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