Irlandos at 19:01, March 13, 2006

2006-03-13T19:01:55Z

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The '''obolus''' (or obol) is a [[Greece|Greek]] silver coin worth a sixth of a [[Drachma]]. In Classical [[Athens]] it was subdivided into eight ''chalkoi'' ("copper pieces").

According to [[Plutarch]], the [[Sparta]]ns had an iron obolus of four [[Chalkos|chalkoi]].

The obolus is also a measurement of weight. In [[ancient Greece]] it was defined as one sixth of a drachma, or about 0.5 gram. 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. A small "obelos" is an "obelisk", euphemistically. "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]]. Those without enough wealth, or whose friends refused to follow proper burial rites, waited eternally on the shore, and were never able to cross into the underworld.

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[[Category:Currency]]
[[Category:Coins of Ancient Greece]]

Obolus - Revision history

Irlandos at 19:01, March 13, 2006