WorldWide

In this intricately detailed 6-inch-tall clay model dating to the late fourth century B.C.E., two young women crouch down to play knucklebones (Greek, astragaloi), a game of chance in which the oddly shaped knucklebones of sheep or goats were thrown to reveal one’s fate. The elegantly dressed woman on the right sets out her hand to cast the first throw, while the woman on the left, whose striking red hair is still preserved, waits patiently for her turn, her left hand clutching the knucklebones she will play next. In the Greco-Roman world, young, unmarried women played knucklebones to divine […]