mail: Bill Thayer

Italiano

Help

Up

Home

Sextarius

 p1043  Article by Philip Smith, B.A., of the University of London
on p1043 of

William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.:
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.

SEXTA′RIUS, a Roman dry and liquid measure, which may be considered one of the principal measures in the Roman system, and the connecting point between it and that of the Greeks, for it was equal to the ξέστης of the latter; and there can be little doubt that the ξέστης was not an original Greek measure, but that the word was introduced into the Greek system from the Roman, for the purpose of establishing a unit of agreement [Quadrantal.] It was one-sixth of the congius, and hence its name: in the Greek system it was one-sixth of the chous. It was divided, in the same manner as the As, into parts named uncia, sextans, quadrans, triens, quincunx, semissis, &c. The uncia, or twelfth part of the sextarius, was the Cyathus; its sextans was thing two cyathi, its quadrans three, its triens four, its quincunx five, &c. (Wurm, de Pond. &c. p118, comp. the Tables).

Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.)
UP TO:		Smith's Dictionary: Daily Life	Smith's Dictionary	LacusCurtius	Home
A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information.