Ancient Greek Units Converter
Length, mass, and capacity units from Classical/Attic Greece, converted to SI. Values are historical approximations – good for education, humanities, and quick estimates.
Uses common Attic values.
Enter ancient unit value.
Result
—
Converted to SI: —
Notes
Values are approximate; sources differ by region and century.
Quick reference (approx.)
| Unit | Symbol / Name | ≈ meters |
|---|---|---|
| Pous (foot) | length | 0.308 m |
| Cubit (pechys) | length | 0.462 m |
| Orgyia | length | 1.98 m |
| Stadion | length | 184.8 m |
| Plethron | length | 30 m |
| Unit | ≈ kg |
|---|---|
| Talent | 26 kg |
| Mina (1/60 talent) | 0.433 kg |
| Drachma (1/100 mina) | 0.00432 kg (4.32 g) |
| Obol (1/6 drachma) | 0.00072 kg (0.72 g) |
| Unit | ≈ liters |
|---|---|
| Kotyle | 0.273 L |
| Xestes | 0.545 L |
| Amphora | 26 L |
| Medimnos | 52.5 L |
Why ancient Greek units are tricky
Unlike modern SI, ancient Greek measures were not fully standardized. Athens could use one value, another polis a slightly different one, and over the centuries values drifted. So in this tool we:
- picked the most cited Attic/Classical values,
- rounded to a sensible number of decimals,
- and clearly tell you it’s an approximation.
How the converter works
For each category we choose a modern SI base (meters, kilograms, liters). We store each ancient unit as a multiplier of that base. When you convert:
- your value is turned into the SI base,
- and then into the target ancient unit.
FAQ
1. I found a different value for the stadion. Who’s right?
Both may be. Some sources put a stadion near 180 m, others a bit above 185 m. Our 184.8 m follows 600 × 0.308 m.
2. Can I add my own unit?
You can copy the JavaScript and add your unit with your preferred factor.
3. Is this okay for museum labels?
Use your institution’s standard, but you can test values here first.
Formula (LaTeX) + variables + units
- No variables provided in audit spec.
- NIST — Weights and measures — nist.gov · Accessed 2026-01-19
https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures - NIST — SI units — nist.gov · Accessed 2026-01-19
https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/si-units
Last code update: 2026-01-19
- Initial audit spec draft generated from HTML extraction (review required).
- Verify formulas match the calculator engine and convert any text-only formulas to LaTeX.
- Confirm sources are authoritative and relevant to the calculator methodology.