The actual weight of this talent (as in the case of the Alexandrian
talent) was somewhat less. It corresponded to a cubic foot of 2000 c.i.,
giving 72·13 lb. = 504,910 grains. This was divided into 60 minás—
(72·13 lb. × 1000)/60 = 8415 grams = 1·2 lb.
The miná was divided by the Persians into 100 darics = 84·15 grains. The
actual weight of silver darics found, 83·73 grains, corresponds almost
exactly to this weight.
This is the talent Herodotus used when estimating the revenue of the
Persian empire. Its miná has survived as the Attári or Assyrian rotl =
8426 grains, extant in Algeria. Another Attári pound = 8320 grains is
still used at Bássora, near the Persian gulf. The ounce of this rotl,
8426/16 = 526·6 grains, is exactly the Russian ounce.
The Persian coins weighing 129-130 grains usually called darics are
staters or Greek didrachms.
_The Metretes_
The second Greek standard of capacity was the Metretes.
While the Medimnos contained an Alexandrian talent of wheat, the
Metretes contained a Greek-Asiatic talent of it.
The capacity of the Persian cubic foot was 2000 c.i. = 72·13 lb. = 7·213
gallons.
This cubic foot, increased in water-wheat ratio, gives 7·213 × 1·22 =
8·8 gallons or 70·4 pints, as the capacity of the Amphoreus metretes.[7]
Footnote 7:
The Metretes was one-tenth more than our firkin. In the story of the
Marriage at Cana (John ii.) the Greek has ‘two or three metretes.’
This term is kept in Wycliff’s version (1388) and in the modern Dutch
version.
Some archæologists have given it as = 8·68 gallons, a very slight
difference.
The Metretes was divided into 36 Choinix or 72 Xestes, which contained
O·977 pint as against the O·955 pint of the Xestes, which was 1/96
Medimnos. A mean figure, 0·96 pint, is usually taken as the common
capacity of the two Xestes.
The Greeks had thus two standards of capacity, the Metretes and the
Medimnos, both cubic feet increased in water-wheat ratio to make them
corn-measures. It is very likely that, having these two measures from
different sources, the one of 72 Xestes, the other of 96, they would use
the smaller as a fluid measure. In modern measures there are several
instances of corn-measures having become wine-measures. Our Imperial
gallon used for fluids is a slightly altered corn-gallon; at present the
multiples above the gallon are used for corn, the gallon and its
divisions for fluids.
4. ROMAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OF CAPACITY
Used by the Greek colonies in Asia, the Greek-Asiatic talent passed to
the Greek or Trojan colonies in South Italy, and became the source of
the old Roman pound, the _As libralis_ = 5049 grains, 1/100 of the
talent; (72·13 × 7000)/100 = 5049 grains.[8]
Footnote 8:
5050 grs.—Smith’s _Dict. of Antiquities_. 5047 grs.—Daremberg and
Scaglio’s _Dict. of Antiquities_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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