Ancient Greek units of measurement

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The Greek system of weights and measures was built mainly upon the Egyptian, and formed the basis of the later Roman system.

Contents 1 Length 2 Area 3 Volume 4 Weight and monetary 5 Miscellaneous 6 External links

[edit] Length

Like the Mesopotamian units, where the cubit or ku was divided into two different digits (shusi of about 17 mm or uban of about 20 mm) and hands (qat), the Greek units also have long, median and short forms.

• The Ionian pous is a typical short pous measuring 296 mm
• The Attic pous measures 309.4 mm
• The Athenian pous measures 316 mm and is considered of median length
• Long pous are actually remen (4 hands) and pygons
• See Cubit for the discussion of the choice of division into hands or palms

Generally the sexagesimal or decimal multiples have Mesopotamian origins while the septenary multiples have Egyptian origins.

Greek length measures and other, alledgedly related ones for comparison

Unit	Daktylos	SI (Metric)	Feet or podes
(1 shusi)	1 (little finger)	14.49 mm	0.05 feet or podes
1 daktylos	1 (ring finger)	19.275 mm	0.06 feet or podes
1 uncia ≈	1.33 (thumb or inch)	25.64 mm	0.08 feet or podes
1 condylos	2 (daktylos)	38.55 mm	0.13 feet or podes
1 palaiste, palm	4 (daktylos)	77.1 mm	0.25 feet or podes (1 palm)
1 dichas	8 (daktylos)	154.2 mm	0.51 feet or podes (2 palms)
1 spithame	12 (daktylos)	231.3 mm	0.76 feet or podes (3 palms)
1 pous, foot	16 (daktylos)	308.4 mm	1.01 feet or podes (4 palms)
1 pygon, remen	20 (daktylos)	385.5 mm	1.26 feet or podes (5 palms)
1 pechya, cubit	24 (daktylos)	462.6 mm	1.52 feet or podes (6 palms)
1 English cubit ≈	25 (daktylos)	493.44 mm	1.62 feet or podes
1 Egyptian royal cubit ≈	28 (daktylos)	539.7 mm	1.77 feet or podes (7 palms)
1 bema	40 (daktylos)	771 mm	2.53 feet or podes (10 palms 1 double remen)
1 yard ≈	48 (daktylos)	925.2 mm	3.04 feet or podes (12 palms)
1 xylon	72 (daktylos)	1.3878 m	4.55 feet or podes (18 palms)
1 passus	80 (daktylos)	1.542 m	5 feet or podes (20 palms; 1 Roman pace)
1 orguia	96 (daktylos)	1.8504 m	6 feet or podes (24 palms; 1 fathom)
1 akaina	160 (daktylos)	3.084 m	10 feet or podes (40 palms)
1 English rod ≈	264 (daktylos)	5.0886 m	17 feet or podes (66 palms)
1 hayt	280 (daktylos)	5.397 m	18 feet or podes (70 palms; 10 royal cubits)
1 perch ≈	1056 (daktylos)	20.3544 m	66 feet or podes (264 palms)
1 plethron	1600 (daktylos)	30.84 m	100 feet or podes (400 palms)
1 actus	1920 (daktylos)	37.008 m	120 feet or podes (480 palms)
khet side	2800 (daktylos)	53.97 m	175 feet or podes (700 palms; 100 royal cubits)
English acre side	3333 (daktylos)	64.359 m	208.71 feet or podes (835 palms)
1 Persian stade	8400 (daktylos)	161.9 m	525 feet or podes (2100 palms)
1 minute	9336 (daktylos)	180 m	300 great cubits (2334 palms)
1 minute of march	9500 (daktylos)	183.3 m	350 royal cubits (2450 palms)
1 stadion	9600 (daktylos)	185 m	600 Greek pous (2400 palms)
1 Roman stadium	9600 (daktylos)	185 m	625 Roman pes (2400 palms)
1 Olympic stadios	10000 (daktylos)	192.8 m	625 Greek pous (2500 palms)
1 English furlong	10560 (daktylos)	203.544 m	660 Greek pous (2640 palms)
1 Ptolemaic stade, cable	11520 (daktylos)	222 m	720 Greek pous (2880 palms)
1 stade of Eratosthenes	12000 (daktylos)	231 m	750 Greek pous (3000 palms)
1 diaulos	19200 (daktylos)	370 m	1200 Greek pous (4800 palms)
1 millos	80000 (daktylos)	1.542 km	5000 Greek pous (20000 palms)
1 English mile ≈	84480 (daktylos)	1.628352 km	5280 English feet (21120 palms)
1 dolichos	115200 (daktylos)	2.221056 km	7200 Greek pous (28800 palms)
1 stadia of Xenophon	280000 (daktylos)	5.397 km	17500 Greek pous (70000 palms)
1/10 degree	560000 (daktylos)	10.797 km	35000 Greek pous (140000 palms)
1 schϓnus	576000 (daktylos)	11.1024 km	36000 Greek pous (144000 palms)
1 stathmos	1280000 (daktylos)	24.672 km	80000 Greek pous (320000 palms)
1 degree	5760000 (daktylos)	111 km	360000 Greek pous (1440000 palms)

1 daktulos (pl. daktuloi), digit 

= 1/16 pous

1 condulos 

= 1/8 pous

1 palaiste, palm 

= ¼ pous

1 dikhas 

= ½ pous

1 spithame, span 

= ¾ pous

1 pous (pl. podes), foot 

≈ 316 mm, said to be 3/5 Egyptian royal cubit. There are variations, from 296 mm (Ionic) to 326 mm (Doric)

1 pugon, Homeric cubit 

= 1¼ podes

1 pechua, cubit 

= 1½ podes ≈ 47.4 cm

1 bema, pace 

= 2½ podes

1 khulon 

= 4½ podes

1 orguia, fathom 

= 6 podes

1 akaina 

= 10 podes

1 plethron (pl. plethra) 

= 100 podes, a cord measure

1 stadion (pl. stadia) 

= 6 plethra = 600 podes ≈ 185.4 m.

1 diaulos (pl. diauloi) 

= 2 stadia, only used for the Olympic footrace introduced in 724 BC.

1 dolikhos 

= 6 or 12 diauloi. Only used for the Olympic footrace introduced in 720 BC.

1 parasanges 

= 30 stadia ≈ 5.5 km. Persian measure used by Xenophon, for instance.

1 skhoinos (pl. skhoinoi, lit. "reefs") 

= 60 stadia ≈ 11.1 km (usually), based on Egyptian river measure iter or atur, for variants see there.

1 stathmos 

≈ 25 km, one day's journey. May have been variable, dependent on terrain.

For reference, the stadion at Olympia measures 192.3 m. With a widespread use throughout antiquity, there were many variants of a stadion, from as low as 157 m up to 211 m, but it is usually stated as 185.4 m.

The Greek root stadios means to have standing. Stadions are used to measure the sides of fields.

In the time of Herodotus, the standard Attic stadion used for distance measure is 600 pous of 308.4 mm egual to 185 m. so that 600 stadia egual one degree and are combined at 8 to a mia chilioi or thousand which measures the boustrdon or path of yoked oxen as a distance of a thousand orguia, taken as one orguia wide which defines an aroura or thousand of land and at 10 agros or chains equal to one nautical mile of 1850 m.

Several centuries later, Marinus and Ptolemy used 500 stadia to a degree, but their stadia were composed of 600 remen of 370 mm and measured 222 m, so the measurement of the degree was the same.

The same is also true for Eratosthenes, who used 700 stadia of 157.5 m or 300 Egyptian royal cubits to a degree, and for Aristotle, Posidonius, and Archimedes, whose stadia likewise measured the same degree.

The 1771 Encyclopædia Britannica mentions a measure named acæna which was a rod ten (Greek) feet long used in measuring land.

[edit] Area

1 aroura 

= ~2700 m², The ground covered by a yoke of ploughing oxen in one day.

[edit] Volume

1 kotule (pl. kotulai) 

= ¼ kheonix, liquid measure

1 khœìnix (pl khœìnikes), khoinix 

≈ 1.1 l, initially used for wheat

1 modios, bushel 

= 8 kheonikes

1 medimnos

= 48 kheonikes

Dry measures:

1 kotule 

= 6 kuathoi

1 khous 

= 12 kotulai

1 metretes 

= 12 choes ≈ 34 l

[edit] Weight and monetary

1 medimnos 

≈ 40 kg

1 talent 

= 60 minae

1 mina 

= 100 drachmae

1 decadrachm 

= 10 drachmae, coin only

1 tetradrachm 

= 4 drachmae, coin only

1 stater, didrachmon 

= 2 drachmae, coin only

1 drachma 

= 4.5–6 g, weight of silver coin

1 diobolus 

= 2 oboloi = 1/3 drachmae

1 obolus 

= 1/6 drachma, silver

1 chalkos 

= 1/8 obolus, copper

[edit] Miscellaneous

muriade

10.000

[edit] External links

• History 310: Greek Coinage and Measures. History/Classics 310. Retrieved on December 15, 2005.