When we think of polo, we usually think of people riding on horses swinging mallets at a ball or hitting a ball with a mallet through a ring, like the game croquet. People worldwide (especially with access to horses) have played a version of polo for thousands of years. It was an effective way of training the military for horsemanship and riding prowess. However, the Ancient Babylonians played polo in a very different way. Instead of using horses, one polo player would piggyback on a human!

The epic of Gilgamesh begins and ends with the “ball game,” representing the transition of Gilgamesh into a wise and mortal king. This game also foreshadowed the coming of Enkidu, who was initially the epic’s anti-hero but became Gilgamesh’s companion to defeat Tiamat. The ball game had military implications, whether it had to do as a training tool or a way for soldiers to prove themselves. In the Sumerian/Akkadian texts, battle and play were almost synonymous. The words for ball and mallet could literally be interpreted as weapons of war or playthings. The imagery of the war god Ishtar makes wars ebb and flow like a jump rope. Some argue it should be translated to a whip. Gruesome passages describe how Ishtar bragged about sending heads rolling like heavy playing balls and her skipping rope speckled with blood.

In the epic of Gilgamesh, the hammer and ball were made from the cosmic tree. The roots were wound up to make the ball, and the main branch was made into the mallet. This gave these instruments supernatural powers; the ball often pulled players into the netherworld. Gilgamesh forced his male subjects to play this game for hours on end. Gilgamesh would sit on them in piggyback style, which was seen as torturous because of Gilgamesh’s enormous size. When the women complained about Gilgamesh and his unwanted advances, the gods sent his instruments to the netherworld, so Enkidu went to fetch them, and he got trapped. However, his ghost was able to escape and still communicate with Gilgamesh. In this way, the ball has supernatural powers of opening a portal to the netherworld and facilitating communication with inhabitants from the Earth and the underworld.

The game also had symbolism associated with the divinity of being the king. The two main images established in the game are the “rod and ring.” They could be considered the mallet and the target in the game. These playing tools would represent the king, the rod as a scepter, staff, or divine weapon, and the ring as a literal ring worn by the king. Still, metaphorically it could be the bond between the subject and master. The symbolism of the rod and ring would be continued throughout the Assyrian kingdoms, most notably Sargon the Great. These symbols were used in the Arabic version of the Alexander Romance. The Persian king Darius sent Alexander three gifts to establish their peace treaty: a ball, a mallet, and a bushel of sesame seeds. The ball and mallet were used to play a version of polo, which was an important game for princes to play. The winner of the game was lifted on the shoulders of the other players, which may be a nod to the Ancient Babylonian version, where players literally played on the shoulders of others. It is interesting that the Greeks had a similar version of the game, complete with the loser having to serve the winner, often carrying that person as a “donkey.”

However, the ball and mallet were also a warning. Use the ball and mallet as toys and not as a conquering king. Darius would destroy him because his soldiers were as numerous as sesame grains. Alexander was not intimidated and saw it as a good omen for his rule because he would use the mallet to conquer the ball (or the world). Alexander saw the bent head of the stick (or the mallet) as the world’s kings bending their heads to him.

In this fun piggyback polo game, students will be the horse and the rider as they recreate Ancient Babylonian Polo!

Materials: 

·      A large play area (gym or outside)

·      Junior hockey sticks (one for every two students)

o   Works well if there are two sets of sticks that are different colors to help identify the teams

·      A soft, squishy ball about the size of a dodgeball or softball. A smaller ball can be used but may be too hard to control depending on the age and skill of the participants.

o   If you are playing the warm-up game, have one ball per pair

·      Colored jerseys (two sets of colors to help identify the teams if the sticks are not colored)

·      Either small nets or two sets of cones to signify the goals

o   You will need more cones for the warm-up game if you decide to play it

Minimum Amount of Students Needed: To play this game, you will need a minimum of eight students. This would make two teams, each with a horse and rider.

Age: Upper Elementary and Middle School