Dram (unit)
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The dram is a unit of mass in the avoirdupois system, and both a unit of mass and a unit of volume in the apothecaries' system. It was originally both a coin and a weight in ancient Greece. The unit of volume is more correctly called a fluid dram, fluid drachm, fluidram or fluidrachm.
Silver Drachm from Dyrrhachium, Illyria dated c. 229 BC. Obverse: ΞΕΝΩΝ (Xenon) cow standing right, looking back at calf which it suckles, eagle standing right above; Reverse: DUR PURBA, square containing double stellate pattern, club to left. Size: 20mm; Reference: Ceka 360
A "wee dram", in Scotland the 35 ml measurement.
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 convenient for trade within the Mediterranean region and these units became increasingly common to different city states. The calibration and use of measuring devices became more sophisticated. By about 500 BC, Athens had a central depository of official weights and measures, the Tholos, where merchants were required to test their measuring devices against official standards.
Illustration of the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse holding a set of scales; in the Book of Revelation he proclaims "A choinix of wheat for a denarius, and three choinikes of barley for a denarius;" indicating high food prices during a famine.
An obol, Attica, Athens, weighing 0.69g After 449 BC
This section of a frieze from the Elgin Marbles shows a cavalry procession that was part of the quadrennial Greater Panathenaic festival, always held in the month Hekatombion.
Image: Hoplitodromia Louvre CA214