What is "harpastum"

Harpastum, also known as harpustum, was a form of ball game played in the Roman Empire. The Romans also referred to it as the small ball game. The ball used was small (not as large as a follis, paganica, or football-sized ball) and hard, probably about the size and solidity of a softball. The word harpastum is the latinisation of the Greek ἁρπαστόν (harpaston), the neuter of ἁρπαστός (harpastos), "carried away", from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpazo), "to seize, to snatch".

This game was apparently a romanized version of a Greek game called phaininda ( Greek: φαινίνδα), or of another Greek game called ἐπίσκυρος (episkyros). It involved considerable speed, agility and physical exertion.

Little is known about the exact rules of the game, though sources seem to indicate the primary goal of each team was to keep the ball within their own half of the field, perhaps akin to some kind of keep-away game. Sources indicate the game was a violent one with players often ending up on the ground. In Greece, a spectator (of the Greek form of the game) once had his leg broken when he got caught in the middle of play.