LITRA
LITRA (
λίρα) was the unit
corresponding,
though not equivalent among the
Greeks of Sicily, to the libra of the Italians, and in use for weighing
various substances, including copper. The word was in use as early as the
time of Epicharmus, and occurs frequently in Aristotle. It was divided into
twelve ounces,
ὀγκίαι. [See
PONDERA] Writers like Polybius
naturally use the word to render the Latin
libra. The weight of the litra was about 3366 grains, 218 grammes
(Hultsch,
Metrologie, 2nd edit., p. 662). The equivalent in
silver of a litra of copper was a small coin weighing 13.5 grains, which was
in common use in Sicily, and was the tenth of the Corinthian stater, called
from that fact
δεκάλιτρος στατήρ Pollux
(9.80) gives the value of the silver litra as the same as that of an
Aeginetan obol (16 grains); but this is only a rough approximation.
[
P.G]
