Harpastum, also called harpustum, is a ball game during the Roman Empire. The word harpastum is the Latinisation of the Greek ἁρπαστόν (harpaston), ἁρπαστός (harpastos), "carried away"; from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpazo), " to seize, to snatch." The ball used was small and hard.