Attica, Athens. After 449 BC

LUCANIA, Metapontion. Circa 425-350 BC. Æ 21mm

Silver obol of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius. The Gr(aeco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 Demetrius I (ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ was a Greco-Bactrian king (reigned circa 200-180 BC Extremely small (12 millimeters in diameter), but beautifully crafted. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to

The obolus (or obol) is a Greek silver coin worth a sixth of a drachma. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review Drachma, pl drachmas or drachmae (δραχμή pl δραχμές or δραχμαί (until 1982 is the name of An ancient currency unit found in many In Classical Athens it was subdivided into eight chalkoi ("copper pieces"). Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Two obols made a diobol. The diobol was a denomination of Ancient Greek coinage (one diobol = two Obols.

According to Plutarch, the Spartans had an iron obolus of four chalkoi. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη

The obolus is also a measurement of weight. In the Physical sciences weight is a Measurement of the gravitational Force acting on an object In ancient Greece it was defined as one sixth of a drachma, or about 0. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca 5 gram. For other uses of the words gram or gramme see Gram (disambiguation. In ancient Rome it was defined as 1/48 of a Roman ounce, or about 0. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC This article is about the unit of mass For the unit of force see Pound-force. 57 gram, but was never issued as a coin as part of the early republican coinage system. Coinage came late to the Roman Republic compared with the rest of the Mediterranean, especially Greece and Asia Minor where coins Below the drachm was the dupondius (1/5) to the quartuncia (1/480). The dram (archaic spelling drachm; Apothecary symbol ℨ) was historically both a Coin and a Weight. The dupondius ( Latin two-pounder) was a Brass Coin used during the Roman Empire and Roman Republic valued at 2 asses ^[1] In modern Greece it is equivalent to one decigram, or 0. 1 gram.

The word "obolos" or "obelos" (plural: oboloi, obeloi) means a long thin metal rod, such as a spit. "Oboloi" came to be used as currency because they represented ingots of copper or bronze, and were traded as such. Sparta chose to retain the use of the cumbersome, impractical "oboloi" rather than coins proper, so as to discourage the pursuit of wealth.

The deceased were buried with an obolus, placed under the tongue or on the eyes of the corpse, in order that, once a dead person's shade reached the underworld of Hades, it would be able to pay Charon for passage across the river Acheron. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (in Greek, Χάρων &mdash the bright) was the Ferryman of Hades This article concerns the Greek river For other uses see Acheron (disambiguation. Those without enough wealth, or whose friends refused to follow proper burial rites, were forced to wander the banks of the Acheron for one hundred years.

In popular culture

In the Beatles song "Taxman", lyricist George Harrison makes reference to the practice of placing the oboloi on the eyes of the dead with the lines,

Obolus is also the final track on the Sperm Whale LP by the heavy metal band Thrones, a solo project of former Earth bassist Joe Preston. Thrones is the solo project of bassist Joe Preston. Biography Thrones began in 1994 with an untitled cassette on the Punk in My Vitamins? label Earth is an American drone band based in Seattle, Washington. Joe Preston (born 1969 is a rock bass guitarist and a former band member of Earth, The Melvins, Men's Recovery Project, The Need and

In popular culture, the obol was used in the cult indie film "The Boondock Saints. " Two brothers, in their role as vigilantes, place obols over the eyes of a murdered Mob Boss. A vigilante is a person who ignores Due process of law and enacts their own form of Justice in response to a perception of insufficient response by the This is an allusion to the aforementioned ancient Greek tradition.

References

1. ^ Sayles, Wayne G. (1997). Ancient coin collecting 3. Iola: Krause Publications, 19. ISBN 0-87341-533-7.