Roman Empire

===Recreation===
[[File:Casale Bikini modified.jpg|thumb|So-called "Bikini Girls" mosaic from the [[Villa del Casale]], [[Roman Sicily]], 4th century]]

The singular ''[[Ludus (ancient Rome)|ludus]]'', "play, game, sport, training", had a wide range of meanings such as "word play", "theatrical performance", "board game", "primary school", and even "gladiator training school" (as in ''[[Ludus Magnus]]'').<ref>{{Cite book |title=Oxford Latin Dictionary |date=1985 |publisher=Clarendon Press |edition=reprint |pages=1048–1049 |orig-date=1982}}; {{Harvp|Habinek|2005|pp=5, 143}}</ref> Activities for children and young people in the Empire included [[Hoop rolling#Ancient Rome and Byzantium|hoop rolling]] and [[knucklebones]] (''astragali'' or "jacks"). Girls had [[doll]]s made of wood, [[terracotta]], and especially [[Ivory carving|bone and ivory]].{{Sfnp|Rawson|2003|p=128}} Ball games include [[Trigon (game)|trigon]] and [[harpastum]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McDaniel |first=Walton Brooks |date=1906 |title=Some Passages concerning Ball-Games |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |volume=37 |doi=10.2307/282704 |pages=121–134|jstor=282704 }}</ref> People of all ages played [[board game]]s, including ''[[ludus latrunculorum|latrunculi]]'' ("Raiders") and ''[[Ludus duodecim scriptorum|XII scripta]]'' ("Twelve Marks").<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=R. G. |date=1934 |title=Roman Board Games. I |journal=Greece and Rome |volume=4 |issue=10 |doi=10.1017/s0017383500002941 |pages=24–34 |s2cid=162861940}}</ref> A game referred to as ''alea'' (dice) or ''tabula'' (the board) may have been similar to [[backgammon]].<ref name="games">{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=R. G. |date=2009 |title=Roman Board Games. II |journal=Greece and Rome |volume=4 |issue=11 |doi=10.1017/S0017383500003119 |pages=76–82 |s2cid=248520932}}</ref> [[Dice|Dicing]] as a form of gambling was disapproved of, but was a popular pastime during the festival of the [[Saturnalia]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

After adolescence, most physical training for males was of a military nature. The [[Campus Martius]] originally was an exercise field where young men learned horsemanship and warfare. Hunting was also considered an appropriate pastime. According to [[Plutarch]], conservative Romans disapproved of Greek-style athletics that promoted a fine body for its own sake, and condemned [[Quinquennial Neronia|Nero's efforts to encourage Greek-style athletic games]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eyben |first=Emiel |title=Restless Youth in Ancient Rome |date=1977 |publisher=Routledge |pages=79–82, 110}}</ref> Some women trained as gymnasts and dancers, and a rare few as [[Gladiatrix|female gladiators]]. The "Bikini Girls" mosaic shows young women engaging in routines comparable to [[rhythmic gymnastics]].{{Efn|Scholars are divided in their relative emphasis on the athletic and dance elements of these exercises: {{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=H. |date=1984 |title=Athletics and the Bikini Girls from Piazza Armerina |journal=Stadion |volume=10 |pages=45–75}} sees them as gymnasts, while Torelli thinks they are dancers at the games.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Torelli |first=M. |chapter=Piazza Armerina: Note di iconologia |date=1988 |title=La Villa romana del Casale di Piazza Armerina |publisher=Catania |editor-last=Rizza |editor-first=G. |page=152}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunbabin |first=Katherine |title=Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-00230-3 |page=133}}</ref> Women were encouraged to maintain health through activities such as playing ball, swimming, walking, or reading aloud (as a breathing exercise).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanson |first=Ann Ellis |chapter=The Restructuring of Female Physiology at Rome |date=1991 |title=Les écoles médicales à Rome |publisher=Université de Nantes |pages=260, 264}}, particularly citing the ''Gynecology'' of [[Soranus of Ephesus|Soranus]]</ref>