Everipedia Logo
Everipedia is now IQ.wiki - Join the IQ Brainlist and our Discord for early access to editing on the new platform and to participate in the beta testing.
Obol (coin)

Obol (coin)

An obol of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, 12 mm in diameter.

An obol of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, 12 mm in diameter.

LUCANIA, Metapontion.

LUCANIA, Metapontion.

Charon's obol. 5th–1st century BC.

Charon's obol. 5th–1st century BC.

Silver Obol of Athens, dated 515–510 BC.

Silver Obol of Athens, dated 515–510 BC.

Six rod-shaped obols discovered at the Heraion of Argos (above). Six obols forming one drachma.

Six rod-shaped obols discovered at the Heraion of Argos (above). Six obols forming one drachma.

The obol (Greek: ὀβολός, obolos, also ὀβελός (obelós), ὀβελλός (obellós), ὀδελός (odelós). lit. "nail, metal spit";[1]bolo/s) Latin: obolus) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight.

Currency

Obols were used from early times.

According to Plutarch they were originally spits of copper or bronze traded by weight, while six obols make a drachma or a handful, since that was as many as the hand could grasp.[2]*.html#ref39]]eraklides of Pontus]]in his work on Ephorus on his work n Inventionsat Argos discovered several dozen of these early obols, dated well before 800 BC; they are now displayed at the Numismatic Museum of Athens. Archaeologists today describe the iron spits as "utensil-money" since excavated hoards indicate that during the Late Geometric period they were exchanged in handfuls (drachmae) of six spits,[3] they were not used for manufacturing artifacts as metallurgical analyses suggest, but they were most likely used as token-money.[4] Plutarch states the Spartans had an iron obol of four coppers. They retained the cumbersome and impractical bars rather than proper coins to discourage the pursuit of wealth.[5]

In Classical Athens, obols were traded as silver coins. Six obols made up the drachma. There were also coins worth two obols ("diobol") and three obols ("triobol"). Each obol was divisible into eight "coppers" (χαλκοί, khalkoí). During this era, an obol purchased a kantharos and chous (6 pints or 3 liters) of wine.[6] Three obols was a standard rate for prostitutes.

Funerary use

The deceased were buried with an obol placed in the mouth of the corpse, so that—once a deceased's shade reached Hades—they would be able to pay Charon for passage across the river Acheron or Styx. Legend had it that those without enough wealth or whose friends refused to follow proper burial rites were forced to wander the banks of the river for one hundred years.

Weight

The obol [7].%22]]r obolus [8] o a measurement of Greek, Roman, and apothecaries' weight.

In ancient Greece, it was generally reckoned as 1⁄6 drachma (c. 0.72 grams (0.025 oz)).[9][10] Under Roman rule, it was defined as 1⁄48 of a Roman ounce or about 0.57 grams (0.020 oz).[11] The apothecaries' system also reckoned the obol or obolus as 1⁄48 ounce or 1⁄2 scruple.

Literary use

The obolus, along with the mirror, was a symbol of new schismatic heretics in the short story "The Theologians" by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges.[12] In the story's discussion of the circularity of time, eternity, and the transmigration of the soul through several bodies the author uses a quotation of Luke 12:59, mistranslated as "no one will be released from prison until he has paid the last obolus"[12] since Luke calls the coin a lepton (a somewhat smaller denomination) rather than an obolus.

See also

  • The currency of the United States of the Ionian Islands was called the Obol

  • The British halfpenny, also formerly known as the obol[13]

  • Obelisks (ὀβελίσκοι, obelískoi), which also derived from the bars or the critical mark

References

[1]
Citation Linkwww.perseus.tufts.eduὀβολός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[2]
Citation Linkpenelope.uchicago.eduPlutarch, Parallel Lives, The Life of Lysander, para. 17
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[3]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgBiba Teržan "L'aristocrazia femminile nella prima età del Ferro"
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[4]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.org"The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age" by Harry Fokkens & Anthony Harding
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[5]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgPlutarch, Lycurgus 9
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[6]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgDavidson, James (1998). Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. London: Fontana Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-00-686343-4.
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[7]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgOxford English Dictionary. "obol, n."
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[8]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgOxford English Dictionary. "obolus, n."
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[9]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgBritish Museum Catalogue 11 – Attica Megaris Aegina
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[10]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgWeight Standards and Denominations, Tulane University Archived 2015-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[11]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgSayles, Wayne G. (1997). Ancient coin collecting 3. Iola: Krause Publications. p. 19. ISBN 0-87341-533-7.
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[12]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgBorges, Jorge Luis (1962). Labyrinths. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation. pp. 122–24. ISBN 978-0-8112-0012-7.
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[13]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgAlbert Peel, Seconde parte of a register: being a calendar of manuscripts under that title (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 175, note.
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.metrum.orgThe Use of Obeliskoi
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[15]
Citation Linkmoneyingreece.orgHow we came to know about the iron obols, the antecedents of the drachma
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[18]
Citation Linkwww.tulane.eduTulane University
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM
[22]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 20, 2019, 2:20 AM