The images shown above and below show Greek Attic vases with images of Ajax and Achilles playing what is most probably Petteia. Although some scholars dispute that this game was played by these heroes, a fragment of a playing board was found in the excavations of Troy. The Trojan War was fought from about 1154 to 1164 BCE, a time during which board games were already popular in Egypt. In fact, at least nine Greek vases and one cup have been found that show variations of the image of Achilles and Ajax playing Pettiea while dressed in armor. It is believed that a lost epic poem described this situation, in which the heroes were so absorbed in the game they forgot about a critical battle that was raging.