Our games- how old are they-the forerunner of Olympic Games

2018-1-ELO1-KA229-047858

Our games- how old are they-the forerunner of Olympic Games

2020-2021

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Contents Games from Turkey...................................................................................................................7 Aç Kapıyı Bezirgan Başı-Open the Door, Head Merchant....................................................10 Açıl Susam Açıl-Open Sesame, Open..................................................................................11 Adamın Gözü - The Man’s Eye............................................................................................12 Atlama - Jumping Game.....................................................................................................12 Bahse tutuşmak - Making bets..........................................................................................12 Beş Taş - Five Stones.........................................................................................................13 Birdirbir Oyunu / Uzun Eşşek - “One, it’s one” Game / Long Donkey................................14 Ceviz Oyunu - The Walnut Game.......................................................................................14 Çelik Çomak - Steel............................................................................................................15 Çember Çevirmek - Rolling Hoops......................................................................................15 Nine Stones.........................................................................................................................16 Dönme Oyunu - Turning Game..........................................................................................16 El Vurma - Hand Slapping...................................................................................................17 Fes Kapama - Closing the Fez.............................................................................................18 shiş shiş Kayıkçı - shh shh Boatman...................................................................................18 Gölgeye Basma Oyunu - Stepping on Shadows..................................................................19 Gülle Oyunu - Playing with Marbles..................................................................................19 Harf Oyunu - Letter Game..................................................................................................19 Hakim-Davacı (Kadı Çavuş) - Judge and Plaintif.................................................................20 Halat Çekme Oyunu - Tug of War.......................................................................................21 Hırsız Polis - Robber and Policeman...................................................................................21 İp Atlama - Jump Rope.......................................................................................................22 Kör Çepiş - “Blind Kid”(Blind Man’s Bluf)..........................................................................23 Körebe - “Blind Midwife” (Blind Man’s Bluf).....................................................................24 Köroğlu Kaleden Çıktı - Köroğlu Came Down Out of the Castle..........................................25 Kulaktan Kulağa - From Ear to Ear......................................................................................25 Mendil Kapmaca - Grab the Kerchief.................................................................................26 Mendil Saklama - Hide the Handkerchief...........................................................................26 Para Futbol - Coin Football.................................................................................................27 Saklambaç (Hamaha) - Hide and Go Seek..........................................................................27 Saklambaç/Saklanbaç - Hide and Go Seek.........................................................................28

Sar Sar Makara - Wind Spool, Wind...................................................................................28 Seksek/Çizgi Oyunu - Line Game........................................................................................29 Seksek - Hopscotch............................................................................................................30 Subaşı.................................................................................................................................31 Tavşan Kaç - Run Away Rabbit............................................................................................31 Tıp Oyunu - Freezing Game................................................................................................32 Tren Oyunu - Train Game...................................................................................................33 Tuğara / Tulgara..................................................................................................................33 Uzun Eşşek - Long Donkey.................................................................................................34 Yağ Satarım - I Sell Butter..................................................................................................34 Yakar Top / Elamsama - Burning Ball.................................................................................35 Yüzük Oyunu - The Ring Game............................................................................................36 Games from Greece................................................................................................................37 Athyrma:.............................................................................................................................42 Akinitinda (Statuettes):.......................................................................................................42 Trolley:................................................................................................................................42 Dispenser, Flint or cryptinda (crypto):.................................................................................43 Fracture or recoil:...............................................................................................................44 Arpaston (weighs):..............................................................................................................44 Ascension:...........................................................................................................................44 Ankle Sprains:.....................................................................................................................45 Afekinda..............................................................................................................................45 Vembix................................................................................................................................45 Queen.................................................................................................................................45 gameYo-yo.........................................................................................................................46 the Κερητίζειν.....................................................................................................................46 Kollavizein (biz)...................................................................................................................46 Cricket (hoop):....................................................................................................................46 Ostrakinda..........................................................................................................................47 Pentelithoi (pentovola, pebbles).........................................................................................47 Petavron, petiveron (plank of the seesaw)..........................................................................47 Sphere (ball):.......................................................................................................................47 CopperMuscle the current blind fly....................................................................................48 POLIS...................................................................................................................................50

SPARTA................................................................................................................................50 ATHENS...............................................................................................................................51 PAN-HELLENIC GAMES........................................................................................................51 THE ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMES..........................................................................................54

Games from Turkey

During the implementation of our Erasmus+ program <<School is the Flame>> we were searching the origins of the team games that children play into the school yard or into the streets. Also we wanted to know if there is a connection between these games and the ancient Olympic Games and many modern sports. Finally our goal was to search if there are similar childrens’ games among Europe and our partner countries, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. All the school partners were researching and the results were amazing. Not only we found many similar games among our countries, but also we have found many similar games between modern games and ancient games that we realized that they were the forerunner of the sports of Olympic Games and of many modern sports.

Further down we present a sample from Turkey. Some of the team street games that we found similar to our culture:

Aç Kapıyı Bezirgan Başı-Open the Door, Head Merchant

Two of the children hold their hands together like a bridge, and the others go under in single file. During the game, they sing this song:

- Open the gate, head merchant.

- I’ll open it, but what will you give me?

- Take the scoundrel behind me.

- One rat, two rats, three rats.

Whoever is under the bridge when they come to the end of the rhyme is caught by the children making the bridge.

Açıl Susam Açıl-Open Sesame, Open

This game is played by two children. One of them makes a fist and the other tries to get his finger into his fist. During the game, the children say:

Open sesame, open.

I won’t open.

Where’s the key?

It fell in the water.

Where’s the water?

The cow drank it.

Where’s the cow?

It ran of to the mountain.

Where’s the mountain?

It’s burned up and turned to ash.

Afterwards the children make a fist of both hands, put them to their chins and yell “vay benim köse sakalım” (Ah, my beardless beard!).

-Erzincan

Adamın Gözü - The Man’s Eye

This game is played by schoolboys and girls. One of them draws a face on the blackboard. Then the children put on a blindfold and try to find the man’s eye with the chalk. Whoever guesses wrong is made to sing a song, do an imitation, etc. -Şanlıurfa

Atlama - Jumping Game

The children choose a captain. The captain draws a straight line, and stands beside it to watch the jumps. The children then stand with their feet planted behind this line and jump, and wherever he or she comes down, a line is drawn. The winner is the one who has jumped the farthest.

Bahse tutuşmak - Making bets

Children lock fingers and make a bet on any subject, clinching it by saying the words below.

I swear, so help me, Whoever breaks the bet, let him go blind

They then say “çek kopsun” (pull, let it break) and separate their fingers.

Whoever wins the bet gets whatever reward was agreed upon in the bet.

-Zile, Tokat

Beş Taş - Five Stones

The game is played with five stones. The players start by casting the stones on the ground and then trying to pick them up one-by-one, and then in groups of two, three and four.

In the second part of the game, called köprü (bridge), the players must pass the stones one-by-one first through their thumb and forefinger, then through their forefinger and middle finger, middle finger and ring finger and finally their ring finger and little finger.

In the last part of the game, they throw all the stones in the air and try to catch a stone on the top of the hand. The stones caught are then grabbed by the same hand. The number of stones caught is entered into the player’s score. Whoever fails to catch a stone or comes in last in the “bridge” part, is out of the game. Whoever reaches the agreed-upon number first, wins the game. -Zonguldak

Birdirbir Oyunu / Uzun Eşşek - “One, it’s one” Game / Long Donkey

This game is played by girls and boys. The children use a counting game to choose who is “it” — the uzun eşşek (long donkey). They then jump over the “donkey’s” back, saying words that mean roughly “It’s one, it’s two, three, fly; four, throw the handkerchief; five, take the handkerchief; six, gather the apples…” etc. On the fourth jump, a kerchief is placed on the neck of the “donkey,” and on the fifth jump, it’s taken of. Those who forget to say the necessary words, say the words or fail to jump over, becomes “it.” -Şanlıurfa

Ceviz Oyunu - The Walnut Game

The children pound a nail into the ground and put a coin on top of it. The players then try to knock the coin of the nail by throwing walnuts at it.

Whoever succeeds in knocking the coin of puts the coin back in its place and waits by the nail. This player takes all the walnuts that the other children throw. The next to knock the coin of takes the last one’s place.

Çelik Çomak - Steel

First the children chose a large stone or log as a target. They then divide into teams, and extend their hands in front of them, holding their left hands in their right. Then they recite the following poem, opening and closing their right hands with each syllable:

Spouse to spous, five to five Bald man to bald man

At the end of the rhyme, they are divided into throwing or guarding teams, according to whether their hands are open or shut. If someone on the throwing team manages to throw the stick to within a long stick’s length of the target or hits the target, then all the members of the guarding team lose and the teams change places. A member of the guarding team tries to prevent this by hitting the short stick with a stick in his hand while it is in the air. Whoever succeeds then measures the length between the target and the stick with his long stick, and the number of lengths that comes up is added to his team’s score. If the guarding team catches the stick in the air, he gains ten points for his side, the other side loses and the teams change place.

Çember Çevirmek - Rolling Hoops

Four and five-year old boys and girls roll hoops. As it’s considered a distinguished game, parents encourage their children to play it. The hoops are divided into fourths by wire or string passing across the middle.

Sometimes additional hoops are added to these wooden hoops, resulting in multi-

layered hoops, which are more durable than single ones. The hoops are rolled with sticks around 35 cm long. Several children compete together.

Sometimes the end of a long piece of wire is bent in such a way as to fit inside the hoop, and used to keep the hoop rolling. Sometimes several children get together and compete to roll the hoop the distance between to set points. -Istanbul

Nine Stones

This game is played by two children with nine stones, on the board below. Each player has diferent colored stones. The players put their stones on the board and move them from intersection to intersection.

Whoever manages to get three stones in a row wins the game. -Niğde

Dönme Oyunu - Turning Game

The players stand in a circle holding hands. One side of the circle is open. The children then sing the words below to a simple rhyme and pass through each other. The child who goes between the arms of the children, folds his hands and turns to face outside the circle. The other children follow suit.

The words are:

Box box pliers Let him eat the apple Let my friend Ayşe

Turn her back

In the second half of the game, the children reverse the movements they did before and turn back into the circle, and sing:

Box box pliers Let him eat the apple Let my friend Ali Turn forward. (İçel)

El Vurma - Hand Slapping

This is played between two children. They stand facing each other, and one of them extends his hands palms up. The second child places his hands facing down on the palms of the first child. The first one then tries to move quickly and slap the hands of the second child, who tries to pull them out of the way. When the first child succeeds, the players change places. -Antalya

Fes Kapama - Closing the Fez

One of the children puts an aşık, the kneecap of a sheep or goat) into a fez, and then quickly turns it over, closing it on the floor. One of the others guesses which side of the bone is up, saying “aç” (“hungry,” the concave side of the bone) or “tok” (full, the convex side) and puts one or more aşıks on top of the fez. Then the fez is lifted. If the position of the aşık is as the child guessed, then the one who turned the hat must give the successful guesser as many aşıks as he put on the hat. If the guess was wrong, then all the aşıks go to the one who closed the fez. The act of winning aşıks is called yutma (lit. “swallowing”). -Balıkesir

shiş shiş Kayıkçı - shh shh Boatman

This game is played indoors. Two children sit face-to-face, put their feet together and lock hands. Repeating the rhyme below, they pull each other back and forth:

Fshh fshh boatman The boatman’s oar His heart is dancing Fincan böreği* for dinner Sometimes children’s mother, father and siblings take part in the game.

-Bartın

*Fincan böreği is a type of filled fried pastry cut out with a fincan, or Turkish cofee cup.

Gölgeye Basma Oyunu - Stepping on Shadows

This game is played outside on sunny days. One of the children is chosen to be “it.” Whoever’s “it” stands in the middle of the area and the other children scatter around him. When the game starts, the one who’s “it” tries to step with his foot on the other children’s shadows, as they try to evade him. Whoever has had his shadow stepped on then raises his hand and tells the other children that he’s now “it.”

Gülle Oyunu - Playing with Marbles

This game is played with glass or steel marbles/bearings. The players place marbles in a line at particular intervals in the playing area. There is also a set target line. The children then use shooter marbles to hit the marbles close to the target line. The order of turns is determined by who gets the marble closest to the target line. They must shoot without moving their arms, and fire the shooters by squeezing them between their thumb and forefinger. The players squeeze their shooters towards the marbles in the line. If a player hits any marble, then he can hit other marbles as well. Every marble hit goes to the one who hit it. The game ends when all the marbles have been hit. -Antakya

Harf Oyunu - Letter Game

Played between two children, who draw lots to see who will go first.

Whoever comes out first, thinks of the name of a singer/actor etc. or a city, and draws as many lines on a piece of paper as there are letters in

the word. His opponent tries to guess the name or the city. If he guesses correctly, the letter is written over the line; if wrong, below the line. The opponent has as many chances to guess as there are letters in the word.

If he cannot guess the word before using all his tries, the game is over and the players switch sides. They keep score by recording their right and wrong guesses. The player who guessed correctly the most times wins the game. -Şanlıurfa

Hakim-Davacı (Kadı Çavuş) - Judge and Plaintiff

The players sit in a circle on the floor and throw a cofee cup. The one who manages to throw it mouth up is the “judge.” The one who throws it mouth down is the “plaintif.” Those who throw it on its side are hit on their hands with a switch by the plaintif, at the order of the judge, who also tells him how many times to hit. After all the hitting is done, the game starts over. -Muğla

Halat Çekme Oyunu - Tug of War

Two children pick their players by using a choosing rhyme: “Ben beni ben de beni bul ba beş al beğendiğini.” When two equal teams have been formed, a line is drawn and both teams hold each end of a rope and begin to pull. The object is to pull the opposing team over the line. The winning team is the one who pulls all the opposing team’s members to their side.

Hırsız Polis - Robber and Policeman

This game requires as many matches as there are players.

The end of one of the matches is burnt, and the end of another is broken. The rest are left as they are. One of the players holds the matches, hiding the head ends in his hand. The others each take one of these without showing it to the others. The one who draws the broken match is the “robber,” and the one who draws the burned mtach is the “policeman.” The other children are “members.” The thief can “kill” another child by winking at him. However if he winks at the policeman, the policemen catches him by saying “nani nani.” -Mardin

İp Atlama - Jump Rope

This is played on the streets by girls. There are three ways to play:

Alone, turning the rope alone.

One girl jumping a rope twirled by two girls.

More than one jumping in a rope twirled by two girls.

The rope should be long enough to touch the ground and allow for the heights of the girls jumping. When more than one play, one player must jump as many times as another. There are various ways to jump:

Çat arası: Catching the rope between the legs at the end of the jumping.

Kurbağalama: Catching the rope between the hands and legs at the end of the jumping.

Tek ayak üstünde atlama: Jumping on one foot.

“No break” jumping. Played together, with no break. Whoever fails to jump or to do the right action at the end of the jumping is out, and takes the place of one of the girls turning the rope. Whoever makes it through without a mistake wins the game. -Bartın

Kör Çepiş - “Blind Kid”(Blind Man’s Bluff)

In the region, a year-old goat is called a çepiş.

Yearling goats have locks of hair on their foreheads. To determine which child is to be “it,” one of the players takes a bead, a small stone or a ring and hides in one hand without showing the others. The others say a little rhyme and try to find the empty hand:

One sides two sides three sides…

The black chicken, the bitch It’s in this one, it’s in that one, it’s with the halvah maker’s daughter

Whoever guesses correctly then hides the object and the former child will not be “it,” and the one who guesses the empty hand correctly is also freed from being “it.” The point is to get rid of the object. The last one to be left with the object becomes “it.” His eyes are bound with a kerchief etc. as in “Blind Man’s Bluf.” He then tries to catch one of the other kids. The first child who is caught becomes “it” for the next game.

-Ula, Muğla

Körebe - “Blind Midwife” (Blind Man’s Bluff)

In Turkish, the word for “it” is ebe; literally, “the midwife.” The player to be “it” is chosen with the following rhyme:

I peeled an orange, and put it by my pillow I thought up a lie Duma duma dum Red candle

The “blind midwife’s” eyes are bound with whatever piece of cloth is available. The players draw a large circle out of which none of them may exit. As they walk around the blind midwife, they sing this song:

We sing a song and walk around Go on, guess who we are!

With your cane, blind midwife Show us who we are!

The children also try and get the “midwife” made by saying “beni ebelesene, beni ebelesene” (why don’t you turn me into a midwife?). If the blind midwife gets too close to the edge of the circle, the players warn “her” saying “don’t go there, it’s dangerous.” Whoever the blind midwife catches, he/she must then identify with eyes still bound.

Whoever the midwife identifies, become the next “blind midwife.”

Köroğlu Kaleden Çıktı - Köroğlu Came Down Out of the Castle

Köroğlu is a legendary hero of the Turks. The players are divided into two groups, those who are in the “castle” (home base) and those who are hiding. The leader of the ones in the castle says “Köroğlu has come down out of the castle,” and starts looking for those in hiding. Then one of the ones hiding goes to the castle and begins to hit the ones inside. The ones in the castle then cry for help from their leader, crying “Köroğlu, save us!” Köroğlu comes to the castle, and if he sees one of the opponents, the game is over. The teams switch sides in the next game.

Kulaktan Kulağa - From Ear to Ear

This game is played by boys and girls on winter nights. The child who is “it” has all the other children sit side by side, and sits on the end. He or she then whispers a sentence or rhyme in the ear of the child next to him.

The second player must say the same sentence or rhyme to the one next to him, and so on until it has reached the other end of the line. The last child then says the phrase aloud. It is usually diferent than the way the first child said it.

Then all the children say it, from last to first, and whichever child changed it, becomes the next “it.” –Çanakkale

Mendil Kapmaca - Grab the Kerchief

The children divide into two equal teams. Each player has a number. The “judge,” sitting in the middle of a circle holding a handkecrcief, calls the players by numbers. One of the most common blufs used in the game is to make as if one will grab the handkerchief, and allow the opponent to catch the handkerchief and catch him.

Whichever team succeeds in grabbing the handkerchief the most times, wins the game. The losing team is “punished” by being made to carry the other children on their backs, sing a song, or forced to do some ridiculous act. Sometimes the winning team gets a prize put in the center. -Trabzon

Mendil Saklama - Hide the Handkerchief

One of the children is selected as “it.” The other children kneel close to each other and form a circle. The player who is “it” is in the middle, and the other players try to pass a handkerchief around, hiding it between their knees without being seen. The player who is “it” must guess correctly who has the handkerchief. Whoever is caught with the handkerchief is “it” in the next round. -Karabayır

Para Futbol - Coin Football

This game is played on a table, and requires three coins. The players sit across from one another at the table, and flip a coin to see who will go first. The player has to flick the coins, one between the other two, with his finger and move towards the “goal” which the other player makes with his first and little finger. On the last flick he tries to make a goal. If the coin falls of the table during the game, the turn goes to the other player, and the game resumes with the coin being placed where it fell from the table. Whoever succeeds in making the number of goals decided beforehand, wins the game.

Saklambaç (Hamaha) - Hide and Go Seek

The first “it” is chosen with one or another counting rhyme. He then puts his face up to a circle drawn on a wall, covers his eyes with his hands, and counts to fifty. While he is counting, the other children hide. When he finishes counting, he says “arkam, önüm, sağım, solum, saklanmayan ebe, gördüklerim sobe,” (my back, my front, my right, my left, whoever isn’t hiding is “it,” whoever I see is home free, the Turkish version of “ally ally otzen free”) and begins searching for the other children. He must call them by name. Sometimes the children change clothes in order to confuse him; if he calls the wrong name they say “kazan, çömlek patladı” (the kettle, the pot smashed). In this case the old “it” has to hide again. The first one seen is “it” for the next round. -Aydıntepe, Bayburt

Saklambaç/Saklanbaç - Hide and Go Seek

Girls older than 15 said they didn’t play this game any more because they considered it too simple. The player to be “it” is chosen by choosing stones. Whichever player guesses which hand the stone is in is freed from being “it,” and it continues until someone is chosen. The “it” closes his or her eyes until the children hiding says “okay, we’re ready.” Then “it” starts hunting them. The first child seen is “it” for the next game. As soon as “it” finds someone, he/she yells “ebe var!” (we have an “it”) and the other children come out of their hiding places. -Istanbul

Sar Sar Makara - Wind Spool, Wind

This game is played by at least five boys or girls. All the children stand in a circle. The children then sing a song together and do what it says:

Sar sar makara - Wind spool, wind. (They move their hands as if winding a spool.)

Çöz çöz makara – Unwind spool, unwind. (They move their hands as if unwinding a spool.)

Şöyle de böyle de şap şap – This way, that way, shap shap – (They clap their hands together.)

Komşu! Şap şap! – Neighbor! Shap shap! (They put their hands on their knees and lean forward.)

Aslan geliyor, Kaplan geliyor. Tıp tıp! – A lion is coming, a tiger is coming.

Freeze!(Everyone stands motionless.)

The person who is “it” then goes into the middle of the circle, and tickles the childrens’ necks. Whoever laughs is out of the game. Whoever keeps from laughing until the end is the winner, and gets a prize or applause.

-Ağrı

Seksek/Çizgi Oyunu - Line Game

This is played by two or more boys or girls. The children draw the pattern shown below and then shuffle stones over it with their feet. The object is to move the rock through the pattern without it touching the lines. Of course the players must also not step on the lines. Each child must shuffle the stone through the squares hopping on one foot. The game is starting by throwing the stone onto square 1. The player then hops on one foot and with his foot, kicks the stone onto the second square. They throw the stones on the first, then second and third squares and hop through them. The player hops to the stone in the right square and then knocks the stone out of it with his foot. If the stone lands on the line, the player steps on a line, or steps with both feet where he is not allowed to do so, then he loses his turn and the second player begins. When each player’s turn comes, they pick up where they left of. When a player reaches square 5, he/she may step with both feet.

Seksek - Hopscotch

The game is played by two children on the pattern below:

The player shuffles the stone over the squares, named for their numbers.

As in the drawing, squares 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the also the same as 7, 8, 9 and 10. After each course, the player tosses his stone on the next square and begins the game. If he tosses his stone on the wrong square, steps on a line or “stutters” (fails to move the stone to the next square with a single hit), then he is “stuck,” and loses his turn. Resuming the game, he asks the other, “semiz kaçlı” (How many semiz – lit. “fat”). The other child says “birli çiftli semiz,” (single double fat) and the player hops through the entire course on one foot. Then he asks “iç mi dış mı?” (the inside or the outside?). If the other player says “inside,” the first player enters the first square and tosses the stone to the fifth square. Then he closes his eyes and goes to the fifth square. After he picks up the stone, he opens his eyes and tosses it back to the first square, closes his eyes, goes back to the first square, picks up the stone, and finishes the game. If the other player says “outside,” then the player tosses his stone past squares 5 and 6, and continues as if the other had said “inside.” This last

part of the game is called “birli çiftli iç ya da dış” (single, double, inside or outside). After this part of the game, the player turns his back to the squares and throws the stone over his shoulder to any square. The square on which the stone fell is then considered the player’s “kuma” (lit. “second wife”). When he comes to the square during the game, he may stand with both feet or open his eyes. If a player throws his stone on his opponent’s “kuma,” then he is “stuck” and can’t continue. The game is over when all the squares have been taken as “kuma.”

Subaşı

This game is played outside by five or six people. According to the order in which they’ll play, the players put their sticks in a row, one pace apart.

A player hops over the sticks on one foot and returns to where he began.

He must do this three times without knocking a stick from its place and without touching his other foot to the ground. If he succeeds, he takes his own stick and leaves the game. If he fails, he must wait until it is his turn again. If the space between the sticks is widened by the removal of a stick, then they can be moved closer together.

Tavşan Kaç - Run Away Rabbit

The children form a circle holding hands. One of the children is the rabbit, the other is the hound. The rabbit waits inside the circle, the hound outside. The children in the circle go around in a circle and say the rhyme below and the rabbit does various things according to the rhyme.

At the end of the rhyme, the rabbit runs and the hound tries to catch him. If the rabbit is caught, he becomes the hound in the next game.

Hendekte bir tavşan uyuyordu

Tavşan bana baksana Yakışmıyor bu sana Tavşan kaç, tavşan kaç

A rabbit was sleeping in a ditch (they mime a rabbit) Rabbit, take a look at me This doesn’t become you Run away rabbit, run away! -Tekirdağ

Tıp Oyunu - Freezing Game

Played in a group. The children walk together until the person who is “it” says “Tıp” (Freeze).

All the children stop in their tracks and don’t move. Any child that moves, talks or laughs after the command to freeze receives a penalty. The children may not move until they receive permission. -Antakya

Tren Oyunu - Train Game

This is played by two children. The players each have a pen and paper, and write the numbers from 1 – 10 in a row, with space between. One of the players then writes a number between 1 and 10 on the back side of his paper, and asks his opponent to guess the number. For example, if he thinks of the number “5” and his friend doesn’t guess correctly, then he draws a line over the number “5” on his sheet. If his friend guesses it, then he may not draw a line. Then the turn goes to his opponent. The next line will be on the side, under, and on the other side, i.e. to make a square (a “wagon”) around the number. When all the numbers are enclosed in squares, the “train” then the train “leaves the station.” The one who manages to complete his train first wins. He then picks up his “train” and says “tooooooooooot!” -Trabzon

Tuğara / Tulgara

This game is usually played at night, by both girls and boys. The players divide into two teams of equal numbers. They play “heads or tails” to decide which team will hide. The players who are “it” go into a square drawn on the ground and count to three hundred. During this time the other team hides somewhere all together. When the counting is done, the “it” team goes looking for them. When they find them, they yell “tuğara / tulgara tulgara tulgara!” (These words bear some resemblance to the word “tangara,” the name for idols during the Turks’ Shamanistic period.) Even if only one of those hiding is seen, the teams then switch places. -Bayburt

Uzun Eşşek - Long Donkey

This game needs eight boys to play. The boys divide into two teams of four and play “heads or tails” to find which team will “lie” and which team will “mount.” After they flip, one team gets to get on the backs of the other team members. One player from the “lying” team leans up against a wall, as a “pillow.” The other children on his team then put their heads between the legs of the next one, and support this child. The members of the “mounting” team then jump on the backs of the “long donkey” in order. The child who got on first holds up a number of fingers.

Of the “lying” team, only the “pillow” can see this number. One of the others on the team says a number. If he guesses right, or if one of the mounting team falls when jumping on the backs of the others, the teams switch places. Otherwise the game is repeated with the teams in the same positions. -Niğde

Yağ Satarım - I Sell Butter

First someone as chosen to be “it.” Then the players sit in a circle on the floor facing each other. The player who is “it” takes a handkerchief, ties a knot in one corner, and sings the song that gives the game its name:

I sell butter, I sell honey My master has died, and I sell it My master’s fir is yellow If I sell it, it’s 15 liras Zam-bak Zum-bak Turn and take a good look behind you.

As the child who is “it” walks around, he/she places the handkerchief behind one of the players without him seeing it. As soon as the player notices the handkerchief, he grabs it and starts chasing the “it.” If the “it” manages to sit in his place without being caught, the one who got the handkerchief then becomes “it.” If he is not caught then he continues as “it.” In another version, the player who chases the “it” hits him with the knotted end of the handkerchief until he manages to sit in his place.

Then the child with the handkerchief continues as “it” in the next round.

Yakar Top / Elamsama - Burning Ball

The players divide into two equal teams, which stand facing each other a certain distance apart. The area where the teams are is called the kale (fortress). The teams each send two people, called “ambassadors,” to the opposite team. One of the teams throws a ball into the air towards the opposite team. As soon as they do, one of the “ambassadors” on the opposite team runs quickly towards the team that threw the ball. One player on the opposite team then catches the ball and throws it at the fleeing “ambassador.” If he hits him, the ambassador “dies” and is out of the game. Then the second team throws the ball and the other team throws it at their ambassador. The game continues with new ambassadors. The team that loses all its ambassadors loses the game.

-Çorum

Yüzük Oyunu - The Ring Game

The object is to pass a ring across the fingers of one hand without any help from the other hand. The player takes the ring in his/her hand and tosses it in the air, then catches it on the back of the same hand. The ring on the hand is passed between the index and middle finger, then between the remaining fingers. If the player drops the ring or fails to pass it between the other fingers, he/she receives some punishment

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Games from Greece

THE TOYS AND TEAM GAMES OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS Greek antiquity connected childhood with game. This is manifested at the linguistic level with noun pais and others words like play, h play, the play, which have their roots in verb I play, that is, I have childish behavior, which appeared for the first time in his Odyssey Homer and was not connected only to world of children, but also with carefree play and dance of the nymphs (for this reason this verb was synonymous with the verb dance).

The ancient Greeks loved the game and it shows of the numerous exhibits that have survived and that related to typical snapshots of everyday life of life. In some cases the names of the games are similar to the corresponding today. Definitely a lot of them have been passed down from generation to generation, but should not we also forget Plato's view that Toys for children up to the age of six are innate that is, they are discovered almost automatically.

The games were made by the children themselves with fabric, wood, nuts and clay, while others were made by parents or bought from the koroplathos, who had them from their benches.

The first gift-toy for newborns was the platagi, the rattle, in which out from its use as a toy since it was busy babies, also performed magical properties, why they believed that her sound removed evil.

One of the boys' most favorite toys it was the ankles, the guts that took them together wherever they went in a bag, the wheel, the hoop, the horse-rod which they rode and ran to street competing many times with each other, but also the game with the current name yo-yo that it belonged to in the popular playthings, small toys-objects that is antiquity.

For the girls, the most favorite pastime was play with the plangona or daughter, clay doll, which dressed in clothes. Boys and girls were holding toysuntil adulthood. Then they ofered them to me ceremony to the gods. The boys in Mercury, the girls, one day before their marriage to Artemis, Hera and Aphrodite, with most beloved of all their doll that symbolized her purity that departed and fertility that would they acquired.

HOMERIC ERA In Homeric times, people reported its surplus their time with games and games. With the traditions, the religion and legends cultivated games throughout social classes.

OLYMPIC GAMES AND CLASSICAL AGE After the Homeric era and at birth (776 BC) of the Olympics the games were developed in enviable point. They held an important position in in central squares during a celebration.

Games and especially in the 5th c. e.g. were considered important for the education of the character, its exercise body, social and political development consciousness, the delight of the soul and their preparation children for the future life. Many philosophers such as Solos, Lycurgus, Socrates stressed the great importance of the game for its physical and mental completion human. Plutarch and Galen wrote many works for from the pedagogical role of toys, especially spherical.

In Sparta where the education was strict the game did not lost his place.

His playful circle was created lower and upper pentathlon. The children were playing at lower pentathlon based on simple jumping exercises and roads and ended up in ball games. At the top pentathlon young people trained in wrestling, javelin and in discus throw.

In Athens, where another system of education prevailed, games occupied a prominent place in their education children from a very early age, because the city-state considered it is necessary for the people to be educated from their childhood. THE Plato likened the earth to the multicolored sphere, to that is, a child's ball, the gods as playmates and them people with playthings, their toys and observed that the age between three and six years is strongly characterized from the game (Plato, Laws). For this reason should pediatricians, educators to check not only the stories that listen to children, but also their toys, if through these can be practiced in learning and development skills. In his work

"State" he characteristically stated that children should be taught through play and not by force.

Aristotle in Politics had divided the games in combat, sports, learned and vindictive.

Athyrma:

A favorite toy of older boys was "the play ", a clay horse on wheels, which dragged it all over the house.

Akinitinda (Statuettes):

The ancient immobility game is still played today with the name statuettes, only there are some diferences.

In immobility, players once given the slogan must remain motionless in whatever position they are at.

The one who will move comes out of the game. In the statuettes, all the children are in line except one. This kid is about five meters away from the other children and with his back turned he says: "Statues unheard, unspoken, unsmiling, day or night other children shake when he speaks, but when he asks answer "day" or "night". If they say "night" it continues game and if they say "day" it comes back and everyone stays statues. Then whoever moves, enters the position of the child and the game restarts.

Trolley:

The toy that longed for all the boys it was a carriage who were usually dragged by their loved ones dogs and when they were tired they dragged it children alone.

Dispenser, Flint or cryptinda (crypto):

A player he closes his eyes and the others runto hide at a certain time .O player opens his eyes and searches to find them. Every time he finds one, he has to catch up to run first in his place, otherwise he loses.

Below are listed in detail and in alphabetical order the games developed in Ancient Greece.

Fracture or recoil:

In most popular ball games included the rupture and the recoil, where they hit the ball continuously with force on the ground or on the wall until to lose.

Arpaston (weighs):

( team game), during which a small sphere called grabbers were thrown high and players were fighting to her catch, before she falls into terrain. This team game reported by Homer and others later writers. But it seems that this game required great agility and dexterity and rather the players should only be boys.

Training: Known today as single-even. A child was hiding in his hand a number of objects, which he had to guess his teammate. If he guessed correctly, then he was taking he objects. If he guessed wrong again he had to give to the other equal number of objects.

Ascension:

This game was a kind of acrobatics and was played mainly at the feasts of Dionysus: The players they climbed with one foot on an inflated bag smeared with oil and everyone showed their skill in balance and flexibility. Most of the time player fell down, which amused the others players, who did not care if they would laugh the same and the others with them, when in a little while, that they would also go up in the oiled bag they would sufer the same.

Ankle Sprains:

Ankle Sprains, the guts. Their ankles were picked up by their hind legs goats or lambs.

Afekinda

tilt (rope pull): The players they nail to the ground a beam that has a in the middle hole from where they pass a rope. At two ends of it, is tied by a player so that one does not look at him another, and try pulling hard, to bring one the other near the beam. This game is also played with equal numbers of players on each side.

Vembix

whirlpool: The whirlpools (arch. turbines) were favorites toys for children and young people women, as shown in performances vascular. But also their protector Hermes children's toys has immortalized to enjoy the game this.

The turbines were known to them prehistoric times, but spread especially from the archaic times onwards.

Queen

Similar to the "thieves and cops".

gameYo-yo

The specific game we know how played in antiquity, based on representations in vases.

the Κερητίζειν

Its ancient Greek name the Κερητίζειν: The ancient Greeks they even played a form hockey with the name keratizein, set in its areasMacedonia and Thessaly was played until the decade of the ’70s with the name pig.

Kollavizein (biz)

A player is standing and with his hand he covers his eyes .One another beats him and at the same time asks him which hand hit him

Cricket (hoop):

A game with a ring, wheel, the present wreath, the hoop Cubes, pillars, ankles (dice): Dexterity board game and ingenuity were the pessimists who were played with pieces on a board and were the queen's ancestors and of chess.

Ostrakinda

mentioned above, but no we know who it was. Was going however for small wooden or metal objects and were played in exactly the same way as today.

Pentelithoi (pentovola, pebbles)

The pentelitha (today pentovola) is an ancient game. But it is even played today. As many children as could play in this game they wanted.

Each child had five pebbles collected near his feet. Each player threw a pebble high and had to catch it again, having first taken from down another pebble.

Petavron, petiveron (plank of the seesaw)

The seesaw with various names today: tramp, xylogaidara,

Sphere (ball):

Made of leather or pieces of cloth, sewn and stufed with horsehair, straw or wool, was played by young and old.

Chives (fine salt): A group sitting in a circle and one child walks around, behind the other children and suddenly leaves a rope (now played with a handkerchief) behind from the back of any person. If the child he understood then he was chasing the other until it sat on his position. If not then he had to run around circle and sit back in place.

CopperMuscle the current blind fly.

Rules of the game by the ancient years: They tied a child's eyes with a handkerchief and he would say: "I will hunt a copper fly" and the others would respond: "I will you chase but you will not catch her "and they hit him with their belts until a child catches them.

From the above detailed presentation of the games of the Ancient Greeks, we can all see that the most games are played today in the same format or with some variations developed in the passage of years. Let us not forget that children have always the same needs.

Athletic competition and physical activity have been a way of life for the ancient Greeks since prehistoric times. We find the first sports events in Minoan Crete connected with religious ceremonies. In Mycenaean Greece, sports were an integral part of funerals in honor of the dead. In the "Sports on Patroclus" of the Iliad, the funeral ceremony of Patroclus includes competitions such as chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, road, arm wrestling, discus throwing, archery and javelin throwing.

The Odyssey describes "hospitality" games with an entertaining character and without prizes. The only reward for the winners in the Odyssey was the joy of victory. In the Homeric Epics there are also references to militant activities that were part of daily life and military preparation.

POLIS From the 8th century BC, the emergence of the first city-states also influenced the development of sports. Various education systems were developed in each city-state that included gymnastics, music, writing and reading. The training of young people was aimed at helping them to develop both their body and mind and to achieve harmony. Exercise was accompanied by music. Music, dance and sports helped to achieve a harmonious balance of body and mind. From the 6th century BC. Gymnasiums were established and physical exercise was introduced as a means of education. There was no city in ancient Greece without a high school, a place dedicated exclusively to the physical exercise of citizens and a settlement without a palaestra.

SPARTA Physical exercise was the most important element in the education of the youth of Sparta. The Spartan system placed more emphasis on strengthening the body and less on cultivating the spirit. Spartans of both sexes exercised daily to keep their bodies strong and healthy.

Various races, horseback riding, swimming in the river Evrotas, as well as ball games, were daily in the program. The exercise program became more difficult at older ages and included road, wrestling, javelin, throwing various objects, pancratium, wildlife hunting, horseback riding, boxing and archery. It seems that the most beloved sports of the Spartans were boxing and pancratium.

The educational system of the young people of Sparta was criticized by great philosophers of antiquity such as Plato and Aristotle, because of the one-sidedness that characterized it, with its exclusive orientation to physical training and war preparation. However, despite the disadvantages of the system of education applied by the Spartans with the hard training of their youth, the philosophers themselves acknowledged the importance of this system of physical education, as it had succeeded in instilling in young people great virtues such as discipline and courage. In contrast to Sparta, in Athens education meant the harmonious development of body and mind. Letters, music and

gymnastics were the most necessary elements of the education of the youth of Athens. Each of the above subjects was taught by a special teacher.

ATHENS Although education was neither compulsory nor public, the state supervised and regulated the proper functioning of the individual schools of education in Athens. The lawsuit was addressed to all the boys of the Athenian citizens but not to the girls and the slaves. Parents sought the harmonious development of their children, giving importance to music and gymnastics. So from a very early age the Athenians sent their children to the children's mill, to the arena, to learn the techniques of wrestling and to strengthen their body. Later, teenagers exercised physically in the city's public gyms, the gymnasiums. There he was involved in wrestling, pancratium, boxing, road, jumping, javelin and discus throwing and various other activities and games.

Through letters, music and gymnastics, the Athenians sought to cultivate the mind and body, aiming for a harmonious whole, where a strong mind coexisted within a strong body.

PAN-HELLENIC GAMES The pan-Hellenic holy struggles were one of the institutions of antiquity that helped as much as anyone else in the coherence and communication between the Greeks. These struggles gave the Greeks the opportunity to remember their common characteristics (language, religion, origin) and to forget for a while what separated them. Greeks not only from mainly Greece, but also from the coasts of Pontus, the cities of Central Asia, the colonies of Lower Italy and North Africa came to watch or take part in these games. The winners, in addition to the symbolic wreath, enjoyed honors, privileges and, above all, the respect of their fellow citizens. The games that emerged as pan-Hellenic and sacred were: Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia, and Nemea. The Olympia, which was held "in the most beautiful place in Greece", were the most

important games of Hellenism and overshadowed with their glamor every other competition event. football, basketball, volleyball, water polo, handball and other team sports have been of interest to billions of people around the world for several decades. However, they are not a modern "invention", since in antiquity team sports were widespread and attracted the attention of all those involved in sports.

Despite the fact that the great prizes were enjoyed by the winners of individual sports and especially those of athletics, boxing and wrestling, nevertheless there have been sports for a long time, which if we analyze them today, we see that they are the forerunners of many team sports.

Of course, we should not forget that the sports programs of the Panhellenic holy games did not include team sports. The ancient Greeks engaged in sports mainly for their entertainment and together with various exercises were means of improving their physical abilities and the development of virtues, such as courage, courage and readiness.

At that time, the balls, that is, the games that were played with the ball and embodied the sports, were especially loved and preferred by the people, as in the gymnasiums there were the bowling alleys which were places where the athletes played ball. It was very popular in Sparta, as the Spartans were the first to apply it, as it perfectly matched their way of life, their cruelty and their strict upbringing in the basic stage of their physical education. The teenagers of Sparta, in fact, entering the male age (19-20 years old) were also called spheres. We should not ignore the many references of Plato in the spheres, while it was a particularly beloved sport for the Macedonian kings and Alexander the Great. In his book, the medical coach Galinos highlights the superiority of the balls over the rest of the team sports.

The love for the spherical acquires a timelessness in antiquity. The ball was originally made of various threads and later of sewn leather strips, which were filled with bristles or feathers. It was soft and elastic.

Children's spheres were painted in diferent colors. Back then, the most well-known ball games were feninda or harpoon, where players

pretended to throw the ball to someone while throwing it to others (in a way it looks like handball). Episkyros or Epikinos was played by young people aged 17-18 and is the forerunner of rugby. Kerritizein (horn was the stick) was played with the use of a stick and is the forerunner of field hockey. It was also the sky, where the players threw the ball high and it was won by whoever jumped higher and caught it (there is little resemblance to basketball in jambol or even claiming the ball on the racket). We should not even overlook the fact that there was a rupture, in which the players hit the ball on the ground with their hands and counted the number of bounces.

In Ancient Greece, the variety of sports activities was interesting. There were unrewarded team sports, such as bowling, for fun and physical improvement. However, most of them and many team yard games that children and teenagers used to play for fun were and are the forerunners of many team sports that exist today, and became a pole of attraction for millions of athletes. In Ancient Greece, in addition to children, adults and women participated in sports. There a large number of such games, without unfortunately having sufficient knowledge of the rules. However, analyzing the balls, we can easily see that there are many similarities, with many team sports. And this emphasizes even more how important were playing games and sports to Ancient Greeks and how they afected modern sports, games and the Olympic Games.

THE ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMES The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες, "Olympiaki agones") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of citystates and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin.

The first Olympic Games are traditionally dated to 776 BCE. [1] They continued to be celebrated when Greece came under Roman rule, 2nd century BCE, until the emperor Theodosius I, who having been converted to Christianity, banned pagan festivals. He banned the Olympics in CE 394 as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as the State religion of Rome.[2] The games were held every four years, or Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies.

During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, priests would ofer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations.

The statue of Zeus at Olympia was counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons.

The ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate, [3] although there were victorious women chariot owners. As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any Greek city-state and kingdom were allowed to participate. The games were always held at Olympia rather than moving between diferent locations as is the practice with the modern Olympic Games.[4] Victors at the Olympics were honored, and their feats chronicled for future generations.