Attic talent
Encyclopedia
The Attic talent also known as the Athenian talent or Greek talent, is an ancient unit of mass equal to 26 kg, as well as a unit of value equal to this amount of pure silver. A talent was originally intended to be the mass of water required to fill an amphora
(39 liters). At the 2009 price of $414/kg, a silver talent is worth $10,760. It was equivalent to 60 minae
, 6,000 drachma
e or 36,000 oboloi.
During the Peloponnesian War
, a trireme
crew of 200 rowers was paid a talent for a month's worth of work, about 4.4 grams of silver per rower per day. According to wage rates from 377 BC
, a talent was the value of nine man-years of skilled work. This corresponds to 2340 work days or 11.1 grams of silver per worker per workday. A modern carpenter gets about $25,060/year or $226,000 for nine years of work.
In 1800, a building craftsman in urban Europe got an average wage of 11.9 grams of silver a day, or about $0.49 a day. Adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to $6 a day in 2007 money. Assuming a European worker in 1800 to be as productive as a worker in ancient Greece, the purchasing power of a talent in ancient times was about $20,000 of early 21st century money. The plausibility of this calculation is confirmed by the fact that a talent of silver was worth $1081 in 1800, equivalent to $13,000 after adjusting for inflation.
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
(39 liters). At the 2009 price of $414/kg, a silver talent is worth $10,760. It was equivalent to 60 minae
Mina (unit)
The mina is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight equivalent to 60 shekels. The mina, like the shekel, was also a unit of currency; in ancient Greece it was equal to 100 drachmae. In the first century AD, it amounted to about a fourth of the wages earned annually by an agricultural worker...
, 6,000 drachma
Greek drachma
Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:...
e or 36,000 oboloi.
During the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
, a trireme
Trireme
A trireme was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar...
crew of 200 rowers was paid a talent for a month's worth of work, about 4.4 grams of silver per rower per day. According to wage rates from 377 BC
377 BC
Year 377 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Mamercinus, Poplicola, Cicurinus, Rufus , Cincinnatus and Cincinnatus...
, a talent was the value of nine man-years of skilled work. This corresponds to 2340 work days or 11.1 grams of silver per worker per workday. A modern carpenter gets about $25,060/year or $226,000 for nine years of work.
In 1800, a building craftsman in urban Europe got an average wage of 11.9 grams of silver a day, or about $0.49 a day. Adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to $6 a day in 2007 money. Assuming a European worker in 1800 to be as productive as a worker in ancient Greece, the purchasing power of a talent in ancient times was about $20,000 of early 21st century money. The plausibility of this calculation is confirmed by the fact that a talent of silver was worth $1081 in 1800, equivalent to $13,000 after adjusting for inflation.