{{Short description|Unit of ancient Greek coinage}} {{Hatnote|For the modern Greek currency, see the [[Ionian obol]]; for the British currency, see the [[halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|halfpenny]]; for the brachiopod genus, see ''[[Obolidae]]''}} {{Distinguish|Obelus}} {{multiple image | direction = vertical | align = right | width = 210 | header = Obols through history | footer = | image1 = Obol-vert-3.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Six rod-shaped obols discovered at the Heraion of [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] (above). Six obols forming one [[Ancient drachma|drachma]]. | image2 = Athens. Circa 594-566.jpg | caption2 = Silver obol of Athens, dated 515–510 BC. Obverse [[gorgoneion]], reverse [[incuse]] square. | alt2 = | image3 = Charon-obol2.jpg | caption3 = [[Charon's obol]], 5th–1st century BC | image4 = SNGANS 554.jpg | caption4 = LUCANIA, Metapontion. {{circa|425}}–350 BC. Æ 21 mm. | image5 = DemetriusObol.JPG | caption5 = An obol of the [[Greco-Bactrian]] king [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]], 12 [[millimeter|mm]] in diameter | image6 = 2 Ionian oboli 1819.jpg | caption6 = A 19th-century obol from the British-occupied [[United States of the Ionian Islands|Ionian Islands]] }}
The '''obol''' or '''obolus''' ({{langx|grc|{{linktext|ὀβολός}}}} {{transliteration|grc|obolós}}, also {{lang|grc|{{linktext|ὀβελός}}}} {{transliteration|grc|obelós}}, {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ὀβελός|ὀβελλός]]}} {{transliteration|grc|obellós}}, {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ὀβελός|ὀδελός]]}} {{transliteration|grc|odelós}}; <small>{{abbr|lit.|literally}}</small> {{gloss|nail; metal spit}};<ref>{{LSJ|o)bolo/s|ὀβολός|ref}}.</ref> {{langx|la|obolus}}) was a form of [[Ancient Greek coinage|ancient Greek currency]] and weight. {{TOC limit|2}}
==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 [[Ancient drachma|drachma]] or a handful, since that was as many as the hand could grasp.<ref>Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives, The Life of Lysander'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Lysander*.html#ref39 para. 17]</ref> [[Heraklides of Pontus]] (died {{circa}} 310 BC) is cited as having mentioned the obols of Heraion and also gives the etymology of ''obolos'' (the name of the coin) from ''obelos'' (the word for "spit, spike, nail"). Similarly, the historian [[Ephorus]] in his equally lost work ''On Inventions'' (mid 4th century BC) is said to have mentioned the obols of Heraion. Excavations at [[Ancient Argos|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 [[Geometric art|Late Geometric]] period they were exchanged in handfuls (drachmae) of six spits;<ref>Biba Teržan, "L'aristocrazia femminile nella prima età del Ferro"</ref> they were not used for manufacturing artifacts as metallurgical analyses suggest, but they were most likely used as token-money.<ref>''The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age'' by Harry Fokkens & Anthony Harding</ref>
[[File:Athens 510-490 BC Obol.jpg|thumb|Silver Athenian obol, prominently featuring the regional owl design. 510–490 BC.]]
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"). By the 5th century BC, variations on obols expanded to include coins worth one and one-half ("trihemiobol") obols and half obols ("hemiobol"). The 4th century BC diversified further with some minted obols worth as little as one-eighth obol, equivalent to a single copper.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Kraay|first=Colin M. |title=Archaic and classical Greek coins |date=1976 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-03254-3 |location=Berkeley, Calif |oclc=2649019}}</ref> Each obol was divisible into eight coppers ("[[Chalcus (coin)|chalcus]]", {{lang|grc|χαλκός}}, {{transliteration|grc|chalkós}}). In some other cities the obol was instead divided into twelve chalci.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Psoma |first1=S |title=Le nombre de chalques dans l'obole dans le monde grec |journal=Revue numismatique |date=1998 |volume=6 |issue=153 |pages=19–29|doi=10.3406/numi.1998.2185 }}</ref> During this era, an obol purchased a [[kantharos]] and chous ({{convert|3|litres|USfloz|abbr=on|disp=or}}) of [[Greek wine|wine]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens |first=James |last=Davidson |year=1998 |page=59 |isbn=0-00-686343-4 |publisher=Fontana Press |location=London}}</ref> Three obols was a standard rate for prostitutes. In the 4th century BC, bronze obols were first minted, which were generally larger due to bronze being a less precious metal than silver, thus needing a larger amount to produce an equivalent coin. This larger size made bronze coins fairly popular, as their small, silver predecessors were much easier to lose track of.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Jenkins |first=G. K. |year=1972 |title=Ancient Greek Coins |location=New York |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |isbn=9780214653445}}</ref> Obols had a variety of designs stamped into them based on the region in which they were produced. Athenian obols were typically emblazoned with the face of Athena on one side, and an owl on the reverse. Other regions in Greece had various designs, but the Athenian design was popular enough that the majority of obols discovered by archaeologists today bear the owl design.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kraay |first=Colin M. |title=Archaic and classical Greek coins |date=1976 |location=Berkeley, Calif. |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-03254-3 |oclc=2649019}}</ref> Diobols and triobols were differentiated from standard obols through slight variations to the owl design, changing the way the bird faced and how its wings were positioned for easily identifiable currency.<ref name=":1" />
===Funerary use=== {{Main|Charon's obol}}
The deceased were buried with an obol placed in the mouth of the corpse, so that—once a deceased's [[Shade (mythology)|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 until they were allowed to cross it.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' 6, 324–330.</ref>
==Weight== The '''obol'''<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "obol, ''n''."</ref> or '''obolus'''<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "obolus, ''n''."</ref> was also a measurement of [[Greek units|Greek]], [[Roman units|Roman]], and [[apothecaries' system|apothecaries']] [[weight]].
In ancient Greece, it was generally reckoned as {{frac|6}} drachma ({{circa}} {{convert|0.72|g|gr|0|abbr=off|disp=or}}).<ref>British Museum Catalogue 11 – Attica Megaris Aegina</ref><ref>Weight Standards and Denominations, [http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H310/handouts/Coinage.htm#PRINCIPAL_GREEK_COINS Tulane University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504125619/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H310/handouts/Coinage.htm |date=2015-05-04 }}</ref> Under Roman rule, it was defined as {{frac|48}} [[Uncia (coin)|Roman ounce]] or about {{convert|0.57|g|gr|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient coin collecting 3 |first=Wayne G. |last=Sayles |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientcoincolle00wayn/page/19 19] |isbn=0-87341-533-7 |publisher=Krause Publications |location=Iola |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientcoincolle00wayn/page/19 }}</ref> The [[apothecaries' system]] also reckoned the obol or obolus as {{frac|48}} [[ounce]] or {{frac|2}} [[scruple (unit)|scruple]]. While 0.72 grams was the weight of a standard Greek obol, the actual amount of silver that went into making the currency could vary from region to region. Obols in Athens were typically near the 0.72-gram standard, while Corinth was documented having 0.42-gram obols.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Jenkins|first=G.K.|title=Ancient Greek Coins|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|year=1972|isbn=9780214653445|location=New York}}</ref>
==Literary use== The obolus, along with the mirror, was a symbol of new schismatic heretics in the short stories "[[The Zahir]]" <ref>Labyrinths page 158</ref> and "[[The Theologians]]" by Argentine author [[Jorge Luis Borges]].<ref name="labyrinths">{{cite book |title=[[Labyrinths (short story collection)|Labyrinths]] |first=Jorge Luis |last=Borges |year=1962 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/labyrinthsselect00borg/page/122 122–24] |isbn=978-0-8112-0012-7 |publisher=New Directions Publishing Corporation |location=New York }}</ref> 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 [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] [[Luke 12|12]]:59, mistranslated as "no one will be released from prison until he has paid the last obolus"<ref name="labyrinths"/> since Luke calls the coin a [[Greek lepton|lepton]] (a somewhat smaller denomination) rather than an obolus.
==See also== * The currency of the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]], called the [[Ionian obol|obol]] * The British [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|halfpenny]], also formerly known as the obol<ref>Albert Peel, ''Seconde parte of a register: being a calendar of manuscripts under that title'' (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 175, note.</ref> * [[Obelisk]]s ({{lang|grc|ὀβελίσκοι}}, {{transliteration|grc|obelískoi}}), which also derived from the bars or the critical mark
==References== {{reflist}} * 2. Vol. I of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1914 Plutarch, Lycurgus, 9
==External links== {{commons category|Obol}} * A History of Measures: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307125443/http://www.metrum.org/measures/obeliskoi.htm The Use of Obeliskoi] (archived) * [http://moneyingreece.org/how-we-learned-about-the-iron-obols How we came to know about the iron obols, the antecedents of the drachma]
{{Ancient Greek coinage}}
[[Category:Ancient Greek units of measurement]] [[Category:Coins of ancient Greece]] [[Category:Numismatics]]