Saturnalia and dice (nonfiction)

Drawing from the Chronography of 354 depicting the month of December, with Saturnalian dice on the table and a mask (oscilla) hanging above.

In ancient Rome, during Saturnalia, gambling and dice-playing, normally prohibited or at least frowned upon, were permitted for all, even slaves.

Coins and nuts were the stakes.

On the Calendar of Philocalus, the Saturnalia is represented by a man wearing a fur-trimmed coat next to a table with dice, and a caption reading: "Now you have license, slave, to game with your master."

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Dice (nonfiction)
• Saturnalia (nonfiction)

External links:

• Dice @ Wikipedia
• Saturnalia @ Wikipedia