Obol (coin)
The obol or obolus was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight.
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 drachma or a handful, since that was as many as the hand could grasp. Heraklides of Pontus is cited as having mentioned the obols of Heraion and also gives the etymology of obolos from obelos. Similarly, the historian Ephorus in his equally lost work On Inventions is said to have mentioned the obols of Heraion.Excavations at 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 Late Geometric period they were exchanged in handfuls of six spits; they were not used for manufacturing artifacts as metallurgical analyses suggest, but they were most likely used as token-money.
In Classical Athens, obols were traded as silver coins. Six obols made up the drachma. There were also coins worth two obols and three obols. By the 5th century BC, variations on obols expanded to include coins worth one and one-half obols and half obols. The 4th century BC diversified further with some minted obols worth as little as one-eighth obol, equivalent to a single copper. Each obol was divisible into eight coppers. In some other cities the obol was instead divided into twelve chalci. During this era, an obol purchased a kantharos and chous of wine. 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. 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. 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.
Funerary use
The deceased were buried with an obol placed in the mouth of the corpse, so that—once a deceased's 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.Weight
The obol or obolus was also a measurement of Greek, Roman, and apothecaries' weight.In ancient Greece, it was generally reckoned as drachma. Under Roman rule, it was defined as Roman ounce or about. The apothecaries' system also reckoned the obol or obolus as ounce or 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.