Salamis

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I have, as best I could, used in this novel the weights, measures, and coinages my characters would have used and encountered in their journey. Here are some approximate equivalents (precise values would have varied from city to city, further complicating things):

1 digit = ¾ inch

12 khalkoi = 1 obolos

4 digits = 1 palm

6 oboloi = 1 drakhma

6 palms = 1 cubit

100 drakhmai = 1 mina (about 1 pound)

1 cubit = 1 ½ feet

60 minai = 1 talent

1 plethron = 100 feet

1 stadion = 600 feet

As noted, these are all approximate. As a measure of how widely they could vary, the talent in Athens was about 57 pounds, while that of Aigina, less than thirty miles away, was about 83 pounds.

The helmet sat heavy on Menedemos’ head. The cheekpieces covered his ears, too, so that he felt as if he had his fingers stuffed in them. Together, the cheekpieces and the nasal squeezed his vision. So did the upper rim of his big, round, bronze-faced hoplite’s shield. The shield was also heavy; keeping it up so it warded the lower half of his face took work.

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