Glebe Posted June 18 · Member Share Posted June 18 It's commonly assumed that the denarius (Nero's) was used as a drachm weight by ancient doctors but can someone point me to a specific reference for this usage? Ross G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted June 18 · Patron Share Posted June 18 A dram is a unit of liquid equivalent to 3.67 ml. A dram of water would therefore weigh 3.67 g, which is about the weight of a 1st century denarius. The word dram supposedly comes from drachma. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glebe Posted June 18 · Member Author Share Posted June 18 I'm looking for references in Galen or other ancient medical authors - the usual search engines have not returned anything useful. Ross G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted June 18 · Member Share Posted June 18 15 hours ago, Glebe said: the usual search engines have not returned anything useful Which is not surprising. I have never heard of this "common assumption" - during more than 45 years working with ancient coins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steppenfool Posted June 18 · Member Share Posted June 18 Referece (3) : Galen Of Pergamum. Galeni de Compositione Pharmacorum Book IV. 531. b & c Bartels, E.M., Swaddling, J. and Harrison, A.P. (2006), An Ancient Greek Pain Remedy for Athletes. Pain Practice, 6: 212-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2006.00088.x Available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2006.00088.x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glebe Posted June 19 · Member Author Share Posted June 19 6 hours ago, Dwarf said: Which is not surprising. I have never heard of this "common assumption" - during more than 45 years working with ancient coins Perhaps because this is actually a question of metrology rather than numismatics. What I am really looking into is the origin of the Apothecaries' weight scale and it's connection with the the Roman weight scale. And ultimately to the origin of the Troy pound. Ross G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glebe Posted June 19 · Member Author Share Posted June 19 4 hours ago, Steppenfool said: Referece (3) : Galen Of Pergamum. Galeni de Compositione Pharmacorum Book IV. 531. b & c Bartels, E.M., Swaddling, J. and Harrison, A.P. (2006), An Ancient Greek Pain Remedy for Athletes. Pain Practice, 6: 212-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2006.00088.x Available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2006.00088.x Thanks for those references. It seems Celsus freely mixed Roman (denarius & sextantes) and Greek (obolus) terminology in the early 1st century. Ross G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted June 19 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted June 19 Interesting - thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrbguy Posted June 19 · Member Share Posted June 19 11 hours ago, Glebe said: Thanks for those references. It seems Celsus freely mixed Roman (denarius & sextantes) and Greek (obolus) terminology in the early 1st century. Ross G. Freely mixed? Perhaps, but not necessarily. It depends upon which part of the empire was the location for the intended recipients. The eastern empire maintained Greek as the lingua franca before, through, and beyond the days of the Roman empire. Latin was the preferred language in the West. Tractates intended for general circulation might mix the two, but targeted works might well have stayed local. So, where were the intended recipients? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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