Attic weight
Attic weight,or theAttic standard,also known asEuboic standard,was one of the mainmonetary standardsinancient Greece.As a result of its use in the coinage of theAthenian empireand the empire ofAlexander the Great,it was the dominant weight standard for coinage issued in the Eastern Mediterranean from the fifth century BC until the introduction of the Romandenariusto the region in the late first century BC.
The Attic weight was based on a drachma of 4.31 grams, but in practice the main denomination was thetetradrachmor four-drachma coin, which weighed approximately 17.26 g[1]in silver. For larger sums, the units of account were themina(100 drachmae or 435 g), and thetalent(6,000 drachmae or 26.1 kg).
In practice, this meant that the Attic weight standard was interchangeable with the Euboic standard used on the island ofEuboea,which consisted of a stater of 17.2 g divided into sixhektaiof 2.86 g. Because of Euboea's role inGreek colonisationin the Archaic period, the latter standard was widespread in theGreek WestandPonticregions.[2]
History
[edit]Athenian coinage (and its weight standard) became one of the most important standards in theAegeanregion in theClassical period,for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Athenian silver mines atLaurionwere the main source of silver in the Aegean. Secondly, the Athenian demand for grain was met by sending large quantities of Athenian coinage to major grain producing regions in Sicily, Egypt, and the Levant. Finally, theAthenian empiremay have enforced the use of the Attic weight standard through theAthenian coinage decree.[3]
Philip II of Macedonadopted Attic standard for his kingdom.[4]Alexander the Greatalso minted on the Attic standard during his reign. TheMacedonian Empire's adoption of the Attic weight reinforced its status as the standard weight for trade throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In theHellenistic period,most kingdoms minted on the standard and the majority of the local weight standards that had existed in earlier times went out of use. There were many exceptions, however.Ptolemaic Egypt,used a lighter weight standard.[4][1]The island ofRhodesmaintained its ownRhodian standard,supported by their role as a commercial hub for the trade in wine and Egyptian grain.[5]
During the 300 years of theHellenistic periodthe Attic weight slowly declined, as mints reduced the weight of newly minted coins to match the weight of the worn coins that were already in circulation. At the time of Alexander the Great, the Attic tetradrachm weighed 17.28 g of silver. In 300 BC it had slightly reduced in weight, to 17.20 g. TheSeleucidmint atAntiochshows a continuing process of declining weight. The decline can also be seen at other mints.[4]
Attic trade weight
[edit]The Attic weight was used only for monetary sums of silver. For the weight of other objects a separate Attic "trade weight" was used, with a mina of 105 drachmae (457 g) – 5% higher than the monetary weight. During the fifth century BC, this became the main weight used in commerce in the Aegean basin and it was also enforced throughout the Athenian empire by the Athenian coinage decree. In the fourth century BC, the Athenians believed that this trade weight had been invented by the lawgiverSolonin 594 BC, but epigraphic evidence shows that it did not exist before around 500 BC. The earliest physical weight on the trade standard seems to have been hurriedly converted from a mina of 100 drachmae in the early fifth century, probably indicating that it was introduced as an emergency measure to reducing the cost of food and other commodities in a moment of crisis – most likely the evacuation of Athens in 480 BC during thePersian Invasion of Greece.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abRoger S. Bagnall (1976).The Administration of the Ptolomaic Possessions Outside Egypt: With 3 Maps.Brill Archive.ISBN90-04-04490-6.
- ^Kallet & Kroll 2020,p. 148.
- ^Kallet & Kroll 2020,pp. 148–149.
- ^abcOtto Mørkholm (31 May 1991).Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamaea (336–188 BC).Cambridge University Press. p. 8.ISBN978-0-521-39504-5.
- ^Richard M. Berthold(2009).Rhodes in the Hellenistic Age.Cornell University Press. pp. 48–49.ISBN0-8014-7597-X.
- ^Kallet & Kroll 2020,pp. 150–151.
Bibliography
[edit]- Kallet, Lisa; Kroll, J. H. (2020).The Athenian empire: using coins as sources.New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781107015371.