héktos (1⁄6 of the pléthron). A diff erent measure introduced
to Athens from Sicily and Cyrenaica was called médimnos,
and it represented the amount of land that could be sown by
a certain quantity (a médimnos) of wheat.
Since corn and wine were two of the main agricultural
products, two diff erent measuring units were established for
measuring dry or wet products. Th e measuring unit for dry
products was called kýathos. According to diff erent local sys-
tems, it varied from 0.048 to 0.075 gallons (or 0.191 to 0.300
quarts), although it most usually was 0.055 gallons (0.218
quarts). Th e following units are derived from the kýathos: 6
kyathoi = 1 kotýle; 3 kotýlai = 1 kséstes; 2 ksestai = 1 choinix;
4 choinikai = 1 hemiekton; 8 choinikai = 1 hekteus; 6 hekteis
= 1 medimnos (88.19 pounds).
Th e Athenian statesman Solon (ca. 630–ca. 560 b.c.e.)
used the medimnos to calculate the citizens’ wealth and to
classify citizens according to their economic position. Th e
social classes of the Athenian citizens were ordered thus: Th e
pentakosiomedimnoi were those with 500 medimnoi of an-
nual produce; the triakosiomedimnoi or hippeis were those
with 300 medimnoi of annual produce; the diakosiomedim-
noi or zeugitai were those with 200 medimnoi of annual pro-
duce; and the thetai were the poorest citizens, without land
of their own.
During the Archaic and the Classical periods (ca. 600–
ca. 323 b.c.e.) Greeks used the kotýle for measuring both wet
and dry products. Th e measuring units for liquids are formed
thus: 1.5 kyathoi = 1 oxýbaphon; 2 oxýbapha = 1 hemikóty-
lon; 2 hemikótyla = 1 kotýle; 2 kotýlai = 1 ksestes; 16 ksestai =
1 chous; 12 choai = 1 metretés (10.41 gallons).
Various measures were used for weight in Greece. Clay
tablets from Knossos, Mycenae, and Pylos present a weigh-
ing system in which the largest unit was about 66 pounds.
Th e typical weight of historic Greece was a lead plaque,
sometimes with the name of the issuing city or badge. So-
lon introduced to the Attica region the weighing measure
of the Greek island of Euboea, called obolós. Initially the
obolós was in the shape of a spit, or the sharp end of a lance
(obelos in Greek), and it was 1⁄6 of a drachma (0.159 to 0.212
ounces of silver coin in Attica). A drachma indicates the
a mou nt t hat ca n be held i n t he pa l m of t he ha nd, equ iva lent
to si x such spit s , or ob oloi. Th e weight of the obolós either in
silver or gold depended on the local value of the coin. Th us,
in Athens and Euboea the obolós was 0.026 ounces, while
in Aegina (the second most established measure) it weighed
0.037 ounces. Various values of the obolós are formed thus:
1 dióbolos = 2 oboloi = 1⁄3 drachma; 1 dekábolon = 10 obo-
loi; 1 hemiobólion = ½ obolos; 1 tritemórion = 2⁄3 obolos; 1
tetartemórion = ¼ obolos; 1 chalkens = 1⁄8 obolos (copper).
Th ere was also the mina, equivalent to 100 drachmae,
and the talent, equivalent to 100 minae. A talent represented
a man’s load, and it would be relevant to the local standard
used. An Attic-Euboic talent would weigh approximately
57 pounds, while the Αeginitic talent would weigh approxi-
mately 83.33 pounds.ROME
BY KATIE PARLA
Th e use of a sophisticated system of weights and measures was
born in the Middle East. As far back as the third millennium
b.c.e., the Mesopotamians used common units for calculat-
ing weight, area, volume, and distance. Th e development of
such a system was due to a growing territory and economy as
a result of increased conquest and commerce. A standardized
system of weights and measures was needed to ensure smooth
trade across vast distances. Persians, Egyptians, and Phoeni-
cians also implemented standardized weights and measures
that would later be adapted by Greeks and Romans.
As a city-state or empire grows, it is necessary that all
people in that territory have a common vocabulary in order
to facilitate commerce. Th is vocabulary applies not only to
the quantity of commercial goods but also to the monetary
system, provided it is based on the gold or silver standard.
For this reason the Romans, like so many civilizations before
them, instituted a system of weights and measures that was
used throughout their territory. While Rome’s many stan-
dards of measurement were infl uenced primarily by Egypt
and Greece, the Romans also developed their own native
units.
Th e Romans were the fi rst to employ the mile to measure
long distances. Th e word mile comes from the Latin mille
passum, or 1,000 paces. Each mile was equivalent to 1,000
double paces (2,000 individual steps) for a total of 5,000 Ro-
man feet. Th e Roman mile was standardized in the fi rst cen-
tury b.c.e. by the emperor Augustus (r. 27 b.c.e.–14 c.e.) as
part of his legendary administrative reform. He erected a pil-
lar in the Roman Forum known as the Milliarium Aureum.
Th is “Golden Milestone” listed the distances in miles from
that point in Rome to important cities in the empire.
Th e Romans borrowed the concept of short-length mea-
surements from the Egyptians. In Egypt fi nger digits, palms,
feet, and arms were all used to measure short distances. Th ese
body parts were convenient rulers that could be used in daily
life and casual commerce. However, for building and trade,
the units were rigidly standardized, so these units would
be uniform all across the Egyptian sphere of infl uence. Th e
Romans used digits, palms, feet, and cubits (the distance
from the elbow to the tip of the middle fi nger) for measuring
lengths, although their values were slightly diff erent from the
Egyptian standards and also varied across Roman territory,
particularly during the republic (509–27 b.c.e.). Th ere was
also a slight diff erence between the length of feet and their
units during the republic and the length of feet and their
units during the empire.
A Roman foot, or pes was divided into 12 equal units
called unciae. During the republic the Roman foot mea-
sured 11.65 inches, and during the empire it measured 11.5
inches. A cubit was equal to 1.5 Roman feet, and a passus, or
a double step, measured 5 feet. A stadium was another unit of
measurement for greater lengths derived from the distance1180 weights and measures: Rome0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1180 1180 10/10/07 2:31:22 PM