Plethron ( grc-gre, , plural ''plethra'') is an ancient unit of Greek measurement equal to 97 to 100
Greek feet
The pous ( podes; grc-gre, ποῦς, ''poûs'') or Greek foot ( feet) was a Greek unit of length. It had various subdivisions whose lengths varied by place and over time. 100 podes made up one plethron, 600 podes made up a stade (the ...
(ποῦς, ''pous''; c. 30 meters), although the measures for plethra may have varied from
polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
to polis. This was roughly the width of a typical ancient Greek athletic running-track.
A plethron could also be used as a unit of measured area, and reference to the unit in defining the size of a wrestling area is made by
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
.
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
, '' Orationes'', Chapter 10. A square plethron of c. 30 by 30 meters was used as the standard dimensions of a Greek
wrestling square
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports ...
, since such competitions were held within the racing track in ancient Greece. In other connotations, it functioned as the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
, and varied in size to accommodate the amount of land a team of oxen could plow in a day.
The plethron continued to be used in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, where its variant uses were ultimately codified to refer to an area defined by sides of 100 feet or 40
pace
Pace or paces may refer to:
Business
*Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US
* Pace Airlines, an American charter airline
*Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
s (βῆμα, bema).
[ See also Schilbach, Erich (date not provided) ''Byzantinische Metrologie''.] Ultimately, the unit came to be known as the "
stremma
The stremma ( stremmata; el, στρέμμα, ''strémma'') is a Greek unit of land area equal to 1,000 square metres. Historically, stremmata were not standardized, and may have been anywhere from .
History
The Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek ...
", which continues as a metric unit in modern Greece.
[
]
See also
* Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
* Byzantine units
Byzantine units of measurement were a combination and modification of the ancient Greek and Roman units of measurement used in the Byzantine Empire.
Until the reign of Justinian I (527–565), no universal system of units of measurement existe ...
* Greek units Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures evolved as needs changed; Solon and other lawgivers also reformed them ''en bloc''. Some units of measurement were found to be conveni ...
* Roman units
The ancient Roman units of measurement were primarily founded on the Hellenic system, which in turn was influenced by the Egyptian system and the Mesopotamian system. The Roman units were comparatively consistent and well documented.
Length
T ...
* Stremma
The stremma ( stremmata; el, στρέμμα, ''strémma'') is a Greek unit of land area equal to 1,000 square metres. Historically, stremmata were not standardized, and may have been anywhere from .
History
The Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek ...
References
Further reading
*
Ancient Greek units of measurement
Society of the Byzantine Empire
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