Salamis

A NOTE ON WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND MONEY

I have, as best I could, used in this novel the weights, measures, and coinages my characters would have used and encountered in their journey. Here are some approximate equivalents (precise values would have varied from city to city, further complicating things):

1 digit = ¾ inch

12 khalkoi = 1 obolos

4 digits = 1 palm

6 oboloi = 1 drakhma

6 palms = 1 cubit

100 drakhmai = 1 mina (about 1 pound)

1 cubit = 1 ½ feet

60 minai = 1 talent

1 plethron = 100 feet

1 stadion = 600 feet

As noted, these are all approximate. As a measure of how widely they could vary, the talent in Athens was about 57 pounds, while that of Aigina, less than thirty miles away, was about 83 pounds.