Obolus

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The obolus (or obol) is a Greek silver coin worth a sixth of a drachma. In Classical Athens it was subdivided into eight chalkoi ("copper pieces"). Two obols made a diobol.

According to Plutarch, the Spartans had an iron obolus of four chalkoi.

The obolus is also a measurement of weight. In ancient Greece it was defined as one sixth of a drachma, or about 0.5 gram. In ancient Rome it was defined as 1/48 of a Roman ounce, or about 0.57 gram, but was never issued as a coin as part of the early republican coinage system. Below the drachm was the dupondius (1/5) to the quartuncia (1/480). In modern Greece it is equivalent to one decigram, or 0.1 gram.

The word "obolos" or "obelos" (plural: oboloi, obeloi) means a long thin metal rod, such as a spit. "Oboloi" came to be used as currency because they represented ingots of copper or bronze, and were traded as such. Sparta chose to retain the use of the cumbersome, impractical "oboloi" rather than coins proper, so as to discourage the pursuit of wealth.

The deceased were buried with an obolus, placed under the tongue or on the eyes of the corpse, in order that, once a dead person's shade reached the underworld of Hades, it would be able to pay Charon for passage across the river Acheron. Those without enough wealth, or whose friends refused to follow proper burial rites, were forced to wander the banks of the Acheron for one hundred years.

In popular culture

In the Beatles song "Taxman", lyricist George Harrison makes reference to the practice of placing the oboloi on the eyes of the dead with the lines,

Now my advice for those who die, (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes. (taxman)
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Obolus is also the final track on the Sperm Whale LP by the heavy metal band Thrones, a solo project of former Earth bassist Joe Preston.

In popular culture, the obol was used in the cult indie film "The Boondock Saints." Two brothers, in their role as vigilantes, place obols over the eyes of a murdered Mob Boss. This is an allusion to the aforementioned ancient Greek tradition.

References

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Last updated on Wednesday March 05, 2008 at 23:23:36 PST (GMT -0800)
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