Almost all countries of the modern world owe something to Ancient Greece. Particles of culture, knowledge in science and everyday life, even certain worldviews of this ancient country were taken as the basis for most European, and not only states. The history of this relatively small state is still interesting to study.
Greek measures
As you know, each policy on the coast of the Aegean Sea was an original state entity, so the measurement systems had significant differences among themselves. There was no clear and generally accepted structure of measures for a long time, and a single unit of weight in Greece simply did not exist. However, with the development of trade relations, a need arose for their generalization and standardization. So, in the VI century BC two generally accepted monetary systems were formed - the Euboean (it was used in Aegeid) and the Aeginian (became popular in the Peloponnese). Over time, Athens switched to the Euboean system, and from the moment the Athens Sea was formed, it formed the basis of the system of measures of the small city-states of the union.
The advent of a mass metering system
Until now, the question remains unclear where did the unit of weight come from in ancient Greece and measures appeared for measuring and counting the mass of loose and liquid bodies. Most of the finds by archaeologists date back to the Late Bronze Age. A significantly smaller number of artifacts refers to the early Bronze Age. Based on the data obtained during the excavation, the famous archaeologist Lorenz Ramstorf was able to put forward the assumption that the Middle East had a significant influence on the inhabitants of the ancient Greek state. According to him, it was from there that the Greek measuring system was taken, in particular, a measure of weight in ancient Greece. This happened around the 3rd century BC.
Weight unit in Greece
A clear calculation structure and generally accepted names of measures did not appear immediately. The unit of weight in Ancient Greece underwent significant changes and only with time lined up in a rather "harmonious" system. It was based on:
- chalc - equal to 0.09 grams;
- obol - was equal to 8 chalms and 0.71 grams;
- diobol - consisted of 2 obol and equaled 1.42 grams;
- drachma - consisted of 3 diobols, equating to 4.25 grams;
- tetradrachma - consisted of 4 drams and 17 grams.
- mine - consisted of 25 tetradrachms and was equated to 425 grams.
- talent - consisted of 60 minutes and amounted to 25.5 kilograms.
These were units of weight in ancient Greece.
Trade relations
The units of weight of Ancient Greece formed the basis of all trade relations in the state. As you know, for the ancient Greeks, trade was one of the key aspects in the life of both urban residents and residents of the surrounding area. A significant role was played by land trade, which occupies a dominant position. An important place was played by retail trade relations between the seller and the buyer - the purchase and sale of goods and food products, which were the main engine of trade.
In every Greek polis there was an area - agora. Depending on the scale of the policy, there could be several areas. The agoras were of different directions - for example, fish agora was located near the sea. The entire trade and money turnover took place on the squares: products were bought and sold, goods were exchanged, transactions were made between the townspeople. Large suppliers on the agora were assigned places for sale, smaller merchants used prefabricated rows or tents.
The distribution of goods was practiced, these specific people were engaged. When trading, we used scales in the form of a rocker arm and lever type, standard weights of lead or stone, and measuring vessels of various shapes and sizes.
There was a position of an agronomist checking and observing the process of trading on the agora.