Thais of Athens

Reader’s Reference

I. All ancient Greek words and names, with a few exceptions, should be pronounced with an emphasis on a one-before-last syllable. In two syllable words and names, the emphasis is on the first syllable: Thais, Eris. The exceptions are, for the most part, of artificial origin — they appear in Latinized words: goplit (from goplitos), Alexander (Alexandros), Menedem (Menedemos), Nearch (Nearchus), where Greek endings were removed.

II. Hellenic New Year occurs during the first full moon after the summer solstice, during the first ten days of July. The Olympic calendar begins from the first Olympiad (776 B. C.) with four years per each: the first year of the 75th Olympiad is 480 B. C. To convert the Olympic calendar to ours, one must remember that each Greek year corresponds to the second half of the same year in our system and the first half of the following year. One must multiply the number of Olympiads by 4, add the number of years of the current Olympiad minus one, and subtract the obtained number from 776, if the event occurs in the fall or winter, and from 775 if it occurs in spring or summer.

III. Greek months:

Summer

1. Hekatombeon (mid-July — mid-August)

2. Metageytnion (August — first half of September)

3. Boedromion (September — first half of October)

Fall

4. Puanepsion (October — first half of November)

5. Maymakterion (November — first half of December)

6. Posideon (December — first half of January)

Winter

7. Gamelion (January — first half of February)

8. Antesterion (February — first half of March)

9. Elafebolion (Mart — second half of April)

Spring

10. Munikhion (April — first half of May)

11. Targelion (May — first half of June)

12. Skyrophorion (June — first half of July)

IV. Some unit measures and currency.

• Long stadium: 178 meters / 584 feet

• Olympic stadium: 185 meters / 607 feet

• Egyptian skhen (equal to Persian parsang): 30 stadiums, approximately 5 kilometers / 3.1 miles

• plethor: 31 meters / 101.7 feet

• orgy: 185 centimeters / 74.8 inches

• pekis (elbow): 0.46 meter / 1.5 feet

• podes (foot): 0.3 meter / 0.93 feet

• palysta (palm): approximately 7 centimeters / 2.75 inches

• epydama (equal to three palystas): 23 centimeters / 9 inches

• condilos (equal to two dactyls — fingers): approximately 4 centimeters / 1.57 inches.

• Talant: a measure of weight approximately 26 kilograms / 57.32 pounds

• Mina: 437 grams / 0.96 pounds

• Currency units: talant — 100 minas, mina — 60 drachmas.

• Popular Greek coins: silver didrachma (2 drachmas) equal to a gold Persian daric. Tetradrachm (four drachmas) with the image of Athena’s own was the main Greek silver currency (gold went into circulation during the era of Alexander the Great, when the value of talant and drachma fell steeply).

• Liquid measures — khoes (jug) — just over 3 liters — 0.79 liquid gallons; cotile (small pot) — approximately 0.3 liters — just over 10 fluid ounces.

V. Greek greeting, “Haire!” (“Rejoice!”) corresponds to our “Hello!” When parting people said either “Haire!” or, when expecting a lengthy separation, “Geliaine!” (“Be well!”)