3. The Greek-Asiatic Talent

After the institution of the great Assyrian or Persian cubit a new talent was necessarily evolved from it.

The Persian foot, half of the cubit, was cubed, and the weight of this cubic foot of water was the Persian or Greek-Asiatic talent—

25·26/2 = 12·63 inches; 12·63³ = 2014 c.i. = 72·61 lb.

The actual weight of this talent (as in the case of the Alexandrian talent) was somewhat less. It corresponded to a cubic foot of 2000 c.i., giving 72·13 lb. = 504,910 grains. This was divided into 60 minás—

(72·13 lb. × 1000)/60 = 8415 grams = 1·2 lb.

The miná was divided by the Persians into 100 darics = 84·15 grains. The actual weight of silver darics found, 83·73 grains, corresponds almost exactly to this weight.

This is the talent Herodotus used when estimating the revenue of the Persian empire. Its miná has survived as the Attári or Assyrian rotl = 8426 grains, extant in Algeria. Another Attári pound = 8320 grains is still used at Bássora, near the Persian gulf. The ounce of this rotl, 8426/16 = 526·6 grains, is exactly the Russian ounce.

The Persian coins weighing 129-130 grains usually called darics are staters or Greek didrachms.

The Metretes

The second Greek standard of capacity was the Metretes.

While the Medimnos contained an Alexandrian talent of wheat, the Metretes contained a Greek-Asiatic talent of it.

The capacity of the Persian cubic foot was 2000 c.i. = 72·13 lb. = 7·213 gallons.

This cubic foot, increased in water-wheat ratio, gives 7·213 × 1·22 = 8·8 gallons or 70·4 pints, as the capacity of the Amphoreus metretes.[^[7]]

Some archæologists have given it as = 8·68 gallons, a very slight difference.

The Metretes was divided into 36 Choinix or 72 Xestes, which contained O·977 pint as against the O·955 pint of the Xestes, which was 1/96 Medimnos. A mean figure, 0·96 pint, is usually taken as the common capacity of the two Xestes.

The Greeks had thus two standards of capacity, the Metretes and the Medimnos, both cubic feet increased in water-wheat ratio to make them corn-measures. It is very likely that, having these two measures from different sources, the one of 72 Xestes, the other of 96, they would use the smaller as a fluid measure. In modern measures there are several instances of corn-measures having become wine-measures. Our Imperial gallon used for fluids is a slightly altered corn-gallon; at present the multiples above the gallon are used for corn, the gallon and its divisions for fluids.