According to the ''

Etymologiae ''Etymologiae'' (Latin for "The Etymologies"), also known as the ''Origines'' ("Origins") and usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) towards the end of his life. Isidore was ...

'' by

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

, Alea was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

soldier of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

who invented the dicing game

tabula Tabula may refer to: *Tabula (company), a semiconductor company *Tabula (game), a game thought to be the predecessor to backgammon * ''Tabula'' (magazine), a magazine published in Tbilisi, Georgia *Tabula ansata, a tablet with handles See also * ...

. French sociologist

Roger Caillois Roger Caillois (; 3 March 1913 – 21 December 1978) was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, ludology and philosophy by focusing on diverse subjects such as games and play as well as the ...

uses the term "alea" to designate those games which rely on luck rather than skill in ''Man, Play and Games''. While Caillois notes the term is the Roman word for games of chance, Robert C. Bell suggests that the Greek game tabula, a precursor to modern

backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...

, became more commonly known as "alea" "towards the end of the sixth century". However, games historian

H. J. R. Murray Harold James Ruthven Murray (24 June 1868 – 16 May 1955) was a British educationalist, inspector of schools, and prominent chess historian. His book, ''A History of Chess'', is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive his ...

asserts the shift in nomenclature was in the other direction and the game "alea" was later referred to as "tabula"..

References

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* * * * * Year of death unknown Ancient Greek inventors Year of birth unknown {{AncientGreece-bio-stub