In ancient Greece, women couldn’t ride piggyback the way we do today because they wore long dresses. So they had a form of piggyback that was essentially side-saddle!
^Women Playing. Greek, Early Hellenistic Period, about 300 B.C. PLACE OF MANUFACTURE: Corinth
^Girls playing: found at Brauron. (Athenians sent little girls, 5-13 years old, to spend a year at the shrine of Artemis at Brauron, serving Artemis. People called the girls arktoi, meaning little bears. The girls danced and ran races, which must have been a nice change from being home.) [source]
^ Ephedrismos Group, late 4th century BCE. Terracotta, thought to be Attic. Silenus and Maenad, hybrid creatures from Dionysus’ entourage in Greek mythology, are shown playing Ephedrismos. The older satyr is giving a piggy-back ride to a girl wearing a wreath of leaves and baring one breast. The aim of this game, highly popular in Antiquity, was to hit a stone on the ground with a pebble or a ball. The loser had to then carry the winner on their back and knock over the stone while the winner covers their eyes. It is this “penalty” that is most often depicted. When a satyr is depicted playing this specific game, it is thought the artwork is referring to the theatre of Antiquity. [Also, this image suggests the Maenad won the last game. :) ] [source]
