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 and was stuffed with feathers. 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 episkyros (Greek: ἐπίσκυρος). It involved considerable speed, agility and physical exertion. The two teams needed to keep the ball on their side of the field as long as they could.

Little is known about the exact rules of the game, but 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.

In the Middle Ages, the game is thought to have inspired an Italian revival played in Florence known as calcio storico fiorentino, which is played to this day.