Greek Mythology Gambling
Greek Myths are not only simply the best fairy tales to stir a young mind and imagination in the direction of heroic, noble and beautiful. According to opinion of many, they are, also, philosophical. Set on Mount Olympus, the home of the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek mythology, this 5-reel, 30-payline slot is loaded with powerful bonus features. These include substituting wild symbols, lots of free spins, and even a five-tier jackpot to help you secure epic wins while visiting the king of the gods. With that being said, this slot is a Greek Mythology inspired slot with a 15, 625 different ways to win as well as heaps of game features! As this is a Greek Mythology inspired game, based on some of the Greek gods living in Mount Olympus, you can imagine that the game features are far from regular. Hermes – The Greek God of Gambling If you are familiar with the Greek mythology, you would know that Hermes is most famous for being the Gods’ messenger, a “divine trickster” and the guide to the Underworld, among other things. His name, however, also had a very special meaning to the ancient gamblers.
We've Been Gambling for Thousands of Years – But How Did it All Begin?
Throughout history as humans we've had a penchant for gambling. Some have made a career out of it and let's face it we all like to take a chance every now and again. Our modern idea of gambling involves games such as poker and roulette, and it's a pastime that takes place in a casino. But not just a land-based casino because there are now thousands of virtual casinos we can visit online. Go back in time as far as you want to and there is recorded evidence or signs that people have gathered together for the sole purpose of gambling. As lovers of ancient civilizations, myths and legends we're going to take a walk back in time and look at some of the ways the ancients gambled.
Where is it thought to have began?
Ancient lottery
Some of the earliest evidence relating to gambling has been found in China. Tiles have been unearthed that appear to have come from Ancient China and it appears they were used for a type of game of chance similar to a lottery type game, and to our modern day game of keno. Slips from around 200BC have been found and it's thought they were used as part of a lottery that helped to pay for state works including the Great Wall of China.
Ancient dice games
Dice games have been a part of culture since the Ancient Greeks. Sophocles, the Greek poet, claimed that dice had been invented by a hero from Greek mythology, during the battle of Troy. Writings by him, from around 500BC are the first examples of dice being mentioned in Greek history. It is known that dice have been around for much longer because a pair were found in an Egyptian tomb, dated from around 3000BC.
The origins of gambling chips
It's the Romans we've got to thank for gambling chips. These came about because while they loved to gamble all forms were forbidden within the ancient city of Rome. Anyone who was caught gambling would have to pay a penalty of four times the stake they were found to be betting. Ever ingenious, and looking for a way to get around this problem while still being able to gamble, Roman citizens came up with the idea of gambling chips. This meant that if they were unfortunate enough to get caught they could claim they were only gambling for chips rather than actual money.
Greek Mythology Gambling Games
Playing cards are thought to have first appeared in 9th century China
It has been agreed by most experts that playing cards first appeared in China. However, the rules for the games that were played are not quite so certain. It has been suggested that a kind of trading card game is what was played but there are others who think they may have been used for a kind of domino game. One thing is for certain, and that's the fact that the cards were very different from those we use nowadays.
Even the Native Americans enjoy a spot of gambling
Greek Mythology Gambling Meaning
Evidence has been found quite recently that suggest ancient casinos were used by Native Americans. A cave in Utah was excavated and what was found suggested its use was as a casino. More than 10,000 objects were found connected to gambling. Examples included carved sticks that would have been used in a guessing game that involved throwing and guessing whether they would land face-up or face-down. It is thought that the sticks were used to assign various day-to-day duties by the women.
Many of the Ancient civilizations believed there were certain gods that had an interest in gambling. The Roman goddess Fortuna, for example, was thought to be the ruler of fortune and chance. She also became the symbol of wealth and prosperity and was called upon by those who were gambling, when making wagers and placing bets. The Greeks also believed that gambling was a gift from the Gods. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades made wagers in order to decide who was given control of different parts of the Universe. Poseidon subsequently won the sea, Zeus the Heaves and Hades won power over the Underworld.
What many people fail to recognise is the fact that one of the earliest forms of entertainment in the world is gambling. There is evidence of existence of gambling activities in ancient civilizations and turns out gambling, the thing that scares us so much these days, is something that has been around for centuries. According to the information provided in the popular encyclopaedia Britannica, gambling was regulated and severely curtailed in the laws of Rome and ancient China. Additionally, in ancient Egypt incurable gamblers were sentenced to forced labour. Gambling in its basic form was a point of interest to ancient Greeks too, while the Minoan civilization is believed to be the one that first introduced games similar to poker.
Playing Cards Originates from China
It is believed that China is the cradle of playing cards and inventing cards. The Chinese civilization is responsible for the existence of paper and that led them to coming up with the idea of paper money. Soon enough they learned how to shuffle paper money and that is how the practice of shuffling cards was born. The most commonly related game to China is keno. Keno is played with cards that have numbers from 1 to 80 in squares. Players were allowed to choose a set of numbers and then a draw would take place to identify the winning numbers. The origin of keno goes back to 2,000 years ago and certain findings show that the game was initially called “white pigeon ticket.” By 900 AD it is believed that China come up with card games decorated with human forms. This later became a huge trend in Europe as well. However, Europeans changed the design in order to show off Kings and Queens that are still used in modern decks.
Gambling in Ancient Greece was Both Condemned and Widely Practiced
Gambling was definitely present in ancient Greece; however, there were split opinions whether activities of this kind should be forbidden or not. A research by casinoshortlist.org on the topic showed that many Greek philosophers strongly opposed the idea of gambling and even claimed that this activity would become a plague. Nevertheless, liked it or not, gambling had not one, but two Gods on its side. Hermes and Pan, important figures in Greek mythology, are known for taking part in gambling, whereas some stories mention Hades, Poseidon and Zeus throwing dice in order to split the Universe between them. Two popular games that were played by ancient Greeks are checkers and heads and tails. Checkers was at the time called tilia, while in Roman era it got the name “game of 12 lines.” Head and tails were first played with a shell and later it evolved in people using a coin instead. Furthermore, many Greek artefacts reveal scenes of betting; people bet on animal fights such as dog, chicken and bird fights. Finally, Greeks loved their dice. According to many researches, people in ancient Greece used three clay cubes, while Romans reduced it to two.
Greek Mythology Gambling Definition
Native Americans Had Ancient Casinos in Caves?
Very recently Archaeologist found a cave in Utah that is believed to be an ancient casino used by Native Americans. This might be the first casino established on US territory and findings show that it dates back to the 13th century. Researchers at the time revealed that the cave might contain as many as 10,000 objects that are connected to gambling in one way of another. Among the things that were found there were carved sticks. Ancient Native American gamblers would throw the sticks and guess whether they land face-up or face-down. In the thorough research study, archaeologists claimed that the main users of these gambling sticks were women who used gambling as a way of assigning various tasks. John Ives, an archaeologist at the University of Alberta who worked at the site, said that the cane dice were used for assigning day-to-day activities such as “hide and meat preparation, sewing” and etc. However, even though women were the ones to gamble with the sticks, men also took part in gambling activities. For example, they were placing bets on the outcomes of the gambling “sessions” in which the women participated.
Ancient Emperors Enjoyed Gambling Too
It has to be pointed out that ancient Emperors are known for enjoying gambling quite a lot. For example, Emperor Augustus is believed to having suffered from heavy gambling losses; he is known as a tireless gambler who was at the verge of addiction. Emperor Commodus also had bad gambling habits and he once even went bankrupt. Emperor Nero is another example of prominent figure that enjoyed gambling and sporting activities. However, there is not much information about the games they were playing at the time. Most probably, they were throwing the dice, which was pretty popular those days, as well as bet on various outcomes (sports events, fights and etc.).