Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems ofancient weights and measures evolved as needs changed;Solon and other lawgivers also reformed themen bloc.^{[citation needed]} Some units of measurement were found to be convenient for trade within the Mediterranean region and these units became increasingly common to different city states. The calibration and use of measuring devices became more sophisticated. By about 500 BC, Athens had a central depository of official weights and measures, theTholos, where merchants were required to test their measuring devices against official standards.^{[citation needed]}

Some Greek measures of length were named after parts of the body, such as theδάκτυλος (daktylos, plural:δάκτυλοιdaktyloi) or finger (having the size of a thumb), and theπούς (pous, plural:πόδεςpodes) or foot (having the size of a shoe). The values of the units varied according to location and epoch (e.g., inAegina apous was approximately 333 mm (13.1 in), whereas inAthens (Attica) it was about 296 mm (11.7 in)),^[1] but the relative proportions were generally the same.

The ordinary units used for land measurement were:

Neck amphora depicting an athlete running thehoplitodromos by the Berlin Painter,c. 480 BC, Louvre.

Greeks measured volume according to either solids or liquids, suited respectively to measuring grain and wine. A common unit in both measures throughout historic Greece was thecotyle orcotyla whose absolute value varied from one place to another between 210 ml and 330 ml.^[1] The basic unit for both solid and liquid measures was theκύαθος (kyathos, plural: kyathoi).^[4]

The Attic liquid measures were:

and the Attic dry measures of capacity were:

The basic unit of Athenian currency was theobol, weighing approximately 0.72 grams of silver:^[9][10]

Mass is often associated with currency since units of currency involve prescribed amounts of a given metal. Thus for example the English pound has been both a unit of mass and a currency. Greek masses similarly bear a nominal resemblance to Greek currency yet the origin of the Greek standards of weights is often disputed.^[11] There were two dominant standards of weight in the eastern Mediterranean: a standard that originated inEuboea and that was subsequently introduced toAttica bySolon, and also a standard that originated inAegina. The Attic/Euboean standard was supposedly based on the barley corn, of which there were supposedly twelve to oneobol. However, weights that have been retrieved by historians and archeologists show considerable variations from theoretical standards. A table of standards derived from theory is as follows:^[11]

Unit	Greek name	Equivalent	Metric Equivalent	Aeginetic standard
obol orobolus	ὀβολός[12]		0.72 g (0.025 oz)	1.05 g (0.037 oz)
drachma	δραχμή[13]	6 obols	4.31 g (0.152 oz)	6.3 g (0.22 oz)
mina	μνᾶ[14]	100 drachmae	431 g (15.2 oz)	630 g (22 oz)
talent	τάλαντον[15]	60 minae	25.86 kg (57.0 lb)	37.8 kg (83 lb)

Athenians measured the day bysundials and unit fractions. Periods during night or day were measured by awater clock (clepsydra) that dripped at a steady rate and other methods. Whereas the day in theGregorian calendar commences after midnight, the Greek day began after sunset. Athenians named each year after theArchon Eponymous for that year, and in Hellenistic times years were reckoned in quadrennial epochs according to theOlympiad.

In archaic and early classical Greece, months followed the cycle of the Moon which made them not fit exactly into the length of the solar year. Thus, if not corrected, the same month would migrate slowly into different seasons of the year. The Athenian year was divided into 12 months, with one additional month (Poseidon deuterons, thirty days) being inserted between the sixth and seventh months every second year. Even with thisintercalary month, the Athenian orAttic calendar was still fairly inaccurate and days had occasionally to be added by theArchon Basileus. The start of the year was at thesummer solstice (previously it had been at thewinter solstice) and months were named after Athenian religious festivals, 27 mentioned in the Hibah Papyrus, circa 275 BC.

• Ancient Roman units of measurement
• Byzantine units of measurement
• Level staff

• "History 310: Greek Coinage and Measures".History/Classics 310. Archived fromthe original on April 8, 2005. RetrievedDecember 15, 2005.
• Porter, John."Greek and Roman Weights, Measures and Currency".Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. RetrievedJuly 26, 2007.
• Online Conversion of Ancient Greek Units

• Ancient Greek units of measurement
• Obsolete units of measurement
• Human-based units of measurement

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