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Balloon, baloun, balloon-ball or wind-ball is a game similar to the modern game of
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 is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
where it was known as follis, 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 th ...
. 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 and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...
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.
Types of polyisoprene ...
became available, modern players in Great Britain played the game with lighter balls of inflated rubber, allowing younger children to join in.
See also
*Episkyros
''Episkyros'', or ''episcyrus'' (, , ; also , , ) was an Ancient Greek ball game. The game was typically played between two teams of 12 to 14 players each, being highly teamwork-oriented.
The game allowed full contact and usage of the hands. W ...
- ancient Greek ball game
* Handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
- team sport with two teams of seven players each
* Harpastum
, also known as , was a form of ball game played in the Roman Empire. The Romans also referred to it as the small ball game. The ball used was small (not as large as a , , or football-sized ball) and hard, probably about the size and solidity of ...
- ball game played in the Roman Empire
* Pallone
''Pallone'' (; Italian for an inflated ball, source of the English word ''balloon'') is the name of several traditional ball games, played in all regions of Italy, with few differences in regulations.
Forms
''Pallone col bracciale''
''Pallon ...
- several traditional Italian ball games
References
Ancient Roman sports Ball games {{Ball-sports-stub