Il gioco del kottabos nella Sicilia greca

The term kottabos refers to a popular game in the ancient Greek world, which entailed throwing wine at a target during the symposium, particularly towards the end of the evening. The game, practiced by both women and men, is frequently mentioned by literary sources since the Archaic period. Ancient authors are emphatic about the connection between kottabos and Sicily. Thus, an elegiac poem of the Athenian politician and poet Critias (ca. 460-403 BC), on the inventions by different countries, stated that the kottabos was mainly the product of Sicily. Because of its particular dynamic, which consisted in hitting a target with the dregs of wine left at the bottom of one’s drinking cup, the kottabos was considered one of the main skill games in the Greek world. Texts and images are also particularly insistent on the aphrodisiac connotations of kottabos: a success in this game represented a sign of possibly being loved by the woman or young man whose name was exclaimed while throwing the wine. Despite the popularity of kottabos in Sicily, according to ancient literary sources, only a few sympotic vessels from the island depict this game, including significant examples from Agrigento, Camarina, Gela, and Lentini.