Stadion (unit)
Thestadion(pluralstadia,Greek:στάδιον;[1]latinizedasstadium), alsoanglicizedasstade,wasanancient Greek unitoflength,consisting of 600 Ancient Greek feet (podes). Its exact length is unknown today; historians estimate it at between 150 m and 210 m.
Calculations
[edit]According toHerodotus,one stadium was equal to 600Greek feet(podes). However, the length of the foot varied in different parts of the Greek world, and the length of the stadion has been the subject of argument and hypothesis for hundreds of years.[2][3]
Anempiricaldetermination of the length of the stadion was made by Lev Vasilevich Firsov, who compared 81 distances given byEratosthenesandStrabowith the straight-line distances measured by modern methods, andaveragedthe results. He obtained a result of about 157.7 metres (172.5 yd).[2]Various equivalent lengths have been proposed, and some have been named.[4]Among them are:
| Stade name | Length (approximate) | Description | Proposed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| metres | yards | |||
| Itinerary | 157 m | 172 yd | used in measuring the distance of a journey.[5] | Jean Antoine Letronne,1816[2] |
| Olympic | 192 m[6] | 210 yd | 200 Heracles steps | Carl Ferdinand Friedrich Lehmann-Haupt,1929[4][7] |
| Ptolemaic[8]or Attic | 185 m | 202 yd | 600 × 308 mm | Otto Cuntz,1923;[4][8]D.R. Dicks, 1960[3][9] |
| Babylonian-Persian | 196 m | 214 yd | 600 × 327 mm | Lehmann-Haupt, 1929[4][7] |
| Phoenician-Egyptian | 209 m | 229 yd | 600 × 349 mm | Lehmann-Haupt, 1929[4][7] |
Which measure of the stadion is used can affect the interpretation of ancient texts. For example, the error in the calculation of Earth's circumference byEratosthenes[10]orPosidoniusis dependent on which stadion is chosen to be appropriate.
Other uses
[edit]From theMiddle Ageson, the wordstadiumhas been used as a synonym for thefurlong(which is 220 yards, equal to one eighth of amile), which is ofOld Englishorigin.[11]
See also
[edit]- Ancient Egyptian units of measurement
- Ancient Greek units of measurement § Length
- Earth's circumference
References
[edit]- ^στάδιον.Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert;A Greek–English Lexiconat thePerseus Project.
- ^abcDonald Engels (1985).The Length of Eratosthenes' Stade.American Journal of Philology106(3): 298–311.doi:10.2307/295030(subscription required).
- ^abJ. L. Berggren, Alexander Jones (2000).Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters.Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691010427.
- ^abcdeEdward Gulbekian (1987).The Origin and Value of the Stadion Unit used by Eratosthenes in the Third Century BC.Archive for History of Exact Sciences37(4): 359–363.doi:10.1007/BF00417008.(subscription required).
- ^Hoyle, FredAstronomy,Rathbone Books Limited, London 1962 LC 62-14108
- ^"stade - measurement".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2022-06-07.
- ^abcC.F. Lehmann-Haupt (1929) "Stadion"; in August Friedrich von Pauly (ed.),Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft.Stuttgart: Metzler; cited in: Edward Gulbekian (1987).The Origin and Value of the Stadion Unit used by Eratosthenes in the Third Century BC.Archive for History of Exact Sciences37(4): 359–363.doi:10.1007/BF00417008.(subscription required).
- ^abOtto Cuntz (1923).Die Geographie des Ptolemaeus: Galliae, Germania, Raetia, Noricum, Pannoniae, Illyricum, Italia(in German). Berlin: Weidmann. Cited by: Edward Gulbekian (1987).The Origin and Value of the Stadion Unit used by Eratosthenes in the Third Century BC.Archive for History of Exact Sciences37(4): 359–363.doi:10.1007/BF00417008.(subscription required).
- ^D.R. Dicks (1960).The Geographical Fragments of Hipparchus. Edited with an Introduction and Commentary.London: Athlone Press. Cited in: J. L. Berggren, Alexander Jones (2000).Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters.Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691010427.
- ^Walkup, Newlyn (2005)."Eratosthenes and the Mystery of the Stades".The MAA Mathematical Sciences Digital Library.Retrieved2008-07-29.
- ^Pausanias (2012-05-17).Pausanias's Description of Greece.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781108047241.