People’s fascination with luck, chance, and gambling is nothing new in society. On the contrary, while there are now very promising methods of achieving money and success through professional careers, entrepreneurial businesses, and various other investments, in the distant past everything revolved around providential luck.
The Romans and Greeks of antiquity had flourishing civilizations for their time, but access to education and power was reserved mainly for the upper social classes. Luck was necessary for everyone in everyday life, to a much greater extent than now, given that medicine was far from its current successes, military conflicts were frequent and with many victims, and the population was generally much more vulnerable.
However, the entertainment acts that made their way among people’s concerns in the few moments of free time for relaxation and fun are notorious – from theater to gambling with dice, astragaloi (bones) and various improvised accessories. In the gambling chapter, betting in arenas or on chariot races was also very popular.
In this context, we try an exercise in imagination: what would a mechanical/video slot machine or an online slot have looked like if the civilization of that time had suddenly had access to more advanced technology? Certainly, the gods would be given leading roles, invoked through the visuals of the games and especially through their integration into symbols on the slots.
Creative hypothesis: slot game scene from 2,000-2,500 years ago
Instead of watching a duel between gladiators or engaging in a classic game of chance, a Roman citizen living about 2 millennia ago could have had fun at a casino game, if one had existed.
If we imagine a slot machine, it would have operated directly with bronze or copper coins. The winnings, in turn, could be offered in gold coins or in the form of other material goods.
Before a gambling session, the gambler’s schedule would likely include a visit to the temple to pray to the gods of luck. The ancient Greeks considered the goddess Tyche to be responsible for unpredictable fate, good and bad luck.
photo source canva.com
The Roman equivalent, the goddess Fortuna, had a giant wheel that she spun at will, changing people’s fate at any time. So this wheel of fortune, often found on modern video slots, was present in Roman culture long before the first casino appeared!
Other gods associated with games and fate in ancient times were Hermes (associated with cunning and commerce) and Priapus (a symbol for abundance). The ancient perception of chance and hazard tipped the balance towards fate and less towards mathematical calculation and personal influence, as is considered in the contemporary perspective.
Of course, luck is also relevant for each of us, but we have a mentality in which we like more emphasis on reason, and when it comes to gambling we act balanced and responsible.
Returning to the exercise of imagination regarding the mechanical or video slot from Antiquity, it would probably have had the face of the goddess Tyche or that of the goddess Fortuna engraved on the reels, as a special symbol ready to trigger the most impressive wins.
Other landmarks to include in the games: amphorae filled with wine, laurel leaves (the crown of victory), gold coins with the faces of the leaders, dice. As for the sounds, instead of electronic beeps, a lyre or a choir humming a victorious melody would have sounded.
The similarity to slot games as we know them today
Are we that different when it comes to what we want in slot games compared to people in the past? It may be just an impression. In fact, now, as then, people wanted to control the unpredictable. The difference is perhaps only represented by an added realism in perception for today’s casino players.
We have an RNG algorithm that takes the place of the wheel of fortune, a mathematical implementation of the same principle. We use lucky symbols, as we currently consider them. Of course, we really like the diversity that characterizes this field: there is a variety of slot machines, especially in online casinos, with various themes and symbols, keeping up with all the current trends in the world of entertainment and society in general.
The fascination remains the same, in philosophical style: personal control or chance, humanism or divinity, destiny or free will? The vision of many people today is no longer so rigid, so that some aspects do not exclude others.
For example, when you play online slots now, you perfectly understand the mechanism, the impact of science, the calculation of chances, but you don’t completely give up superstitions and rituals – maybe lucky objects or certain modes or moments of the game. Also, the responsible approach is deeper, better integrated into the fun sessions.
