Balloon, baloun, balloon-ball or wind-ball is a game similar to the modern game of
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
, in which a leather ball is batted by the fist or forearm to prevent it from touching the ground. The game was played in
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
where it was known as
follis
The follis (plural ''folles''; it, follaro, ar, فلس, Fels) was a type of coin in the Roman and Byzantine traditions.
Roman coin
In the past, the term ''follis'' was used to describe a large bronze Roman coin introduced in about 294 (the a ...
, the Latin word for a leather bag. Such a ball made of leather was quite heavy and so protection might be used such as a leather
gauntlet or wooden
bracer
A bracer (or arm-guard) is a strap or sheath, commonly made of leather, stone or plastic, that covers the ventral (inside) surface of an archer's bow-holding arm. It protects the archer's forearm against injury by accidental whipping from the b ...
. The Roman game was considered a sport for boys and old men, as
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
wrote:
Once
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
became available, modern players in Great Britain played the game with lighter balls of inflated rubber, allowing younger children to join in.
See also
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References
Ancient Roman sports
Ball games
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