Venus Throw
Encyclopedia
The Venus Throw was the highest roll in the Ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 gambling game of tali, or knucklebones
Knucklebones
Knucklebones also known as astragaloi, hucklebones, dibs, dibstones, jackstones, chuckstones or five-stones, is a game of very ancient origin, played with five small objects, originally the "knucklebones" of a sheep, which are thrown up and caught in various ways...

. The game was played with four sheep's or goat's knucklebones, 4-sided rectangular dice numbered I, III, IV and VI . The Venus Throw happened when each talus landed on a different side, i.e. with a total of 14. A gambler would either throw the tali from his or her hand, or use a box (called a fretellus). There were thirty-five different throws possible. While the Venus throw was the highest, the Vulture throw (all aces) — also known as the Dog throw — was the lowest. The Venus throw could be used to designate the master of the revels.

The Venus Throw is also a novel in the Roma Sub Rosa
Roma Sub Rosa
Roma Sub Rosa is the title of the series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by, noteworthy denizens of ancient Rome. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose"...

 series set in ancient republican Rome by author Steven Saylor
Steven Saylor
Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics....

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