Amidst the vases and jewelry of the Archaeological Museum of Eretria, located in the ancient town (polis) of Eretria on the western coast of the island of Euboea in Greece, there is the oldest children's toy that has been found in Europe, the clay horse of Lefkandi. This remarkable clay horse (see Fig. 1) was discovered in the nearby village of Lefkandi in the grave of a boy who lived and died in the island of Euboea between the tenth and ninth century BC [2]. It was made in the region of Attica, across the South Evian Sea, and was brought back as a present from a voyage by his parent.

Fig. 1
figure 1

The clay horse of Lefkandi, island of Euboea, Greece: a 3,000-year-old child's toy (tenth to ninth century BC)

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As toys offered by parents provide children with a message about what is valued [1], the parental choice to obtain a horse which carried not a warrior but a pair of amphoras is really outstanding. Obviously, this toy does not promote violence. It rather enhances creativity by helping the child to develop motor skills, coordination, and perhaps an understanding of the mechanics of wheeled vehicles.

One suspects that, just as contemporary children visiting the museum instantly recognize this 3,000-year-old toy as a familiar item, the concerns and motivations of parents in the ancient world may not have been too dissimilar from those of parents today.