The Origin of Metallic Currency and Weight StandardsRidgeway, William
History
The Origin of Metallic Currency and Weight Standards
Ridgeway, William
Money -- Origin; Weights and measures -- History
That, at all events, the name might be applied to a certain sum, or coin,
is rendered highly probable by the fact that Draco, with true legal
conservatism, retained in his code the primitive method of expressing
values in oxen. Now it is evident that the term, ‘price of twenty
oxen’ (εἰκοσάβοιον), must have been capable of being translated into
the ordinary metallic currency, whether that consisted of bullion in
ingots or coined money. The “cow” therefore must have had a recognized
traditional and conventional value as a monetary unit, and this is
completely demonstrated by the practice at Delos. Religious ritual is
even more conservative than legal formula, so we need not be surprised
to find the ancient unit, the ox, still retained in that great centre
of Hellenic worship. The value likewise is expressed in the more modern
currency. But we are not yet certain whether the two Attic drachms, which
are the equivalent of the ox, are silver or gold. Now Herodotus (VI. 97)
tells us that Datis, the Persian general (B.C. 490), offered at Delos
three hundred _talents_ of frankincense. Hultsch (_Metrol._ p. 129) has
made it clear that the talent here indicated must be the gold Daric,
that is the light Babylonian shekel. For if they were either Babylonian
or Attic talents, the amount would be incredible. Frankincense was of
enormous value in antiquity; wherefore Hultsch is probably right in
assuming that in the opinion of the Persian who made the offering, the
three hundred “weights” of frankincense, each of which weighed a Daric,
were equal in value likewise to 300 Darics. We shall see in a moment that
there was a distinct tradition that the Daric was a _Talent_, and that
the Homeric one. Now the gold Daric = two Attic gold drachms; but as the
cow at Delos also = two Attic drachms, and the offering of frankincense
at Delos is made in _Talent_, each of which is equivalent to two _gold_
Attic drachms, there is a strong presumption that this Talent is the
equivalent of the ox, and that the Attic drachms mentioned by Pollux are
_gold_. Besides, it is absurd to suppose that at any time two _silver_
drachms could have represented the value of an ox. Even at Athens, in
a time of extreme scarcity of coin, Solon, when commuting penalties in
cattle for money in reference to certain ancient ordinances, put the
value of the ox at _five_ silver drachms[9]. Moreover it is not at all
likely that the substitution of silver coin for gold of equal weight
would have been permitted by the temple authorities. But we get some more
positive evidence of great interest from the fragment of an anonymous
Alexandrine writer on Metrology, who says[10], “the talent in Homer was
equal in amount to the later Daric. Accordingly the gold talent weighs
two Attic drachms.” Here we can have no doubt that Attic drachms mean
_gold_ drachms. Are we wrong then in supposing that at Delos still
survived the same dual system which we found in Homer, the Ox and the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account