Attic Talent (talent)

Ancient GreekHistorical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

About 26 kg, equal to 60 minas or 6,000 drachmas. A large unit used for silver and gold. Other talents (Roman, Hebrew, Babylonian) ranged from about 26 to 34 kg.

1 Attic talent = 26.196 kilograms (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the Attic talent varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the Attic talent

Talent comes from the Greek talanton, which originally meant a balance or something weighed. The Greeks took over the Babylonian scheme of sixty minas to the talent, reportedly through Phoenician traders, and the Attic talent became the largest everyday weight of Athens. One Attic talent equalled 60 minas or 6,000 drachmas. Modern estimates cluster around 26 kilograms, and the value used here, 26.196 kg, sits within a published range of about 25.8 to 26.2 kg.

Because it was so heavy, the talent worked as a unit of account for state finances and large payments, not a coin. A source on Athenian costs notes that in 415 BC a talent was roughly a month's pay for a trireme crew. Other talents differed considerably: about 30.2 kg for Babylon, about 32.3 kg for Rome and about 37 kg for Aegina, so the 26 kg used here applies to Athens alone. A talent is close to the mass of a typical eight-year-old child, or about 58 pounds.

Sources: Wikipedia: Talent (measurement); Wikipedia: Ancient Greek units of measurement; Wikipedia: Mina (unit)

Attic Talent conversion chart

1 Attic talent expressed in every other weight & mass unit:

More Ancient Greek units

• Attic mina (weight & mass)
• Attic drachma (weight & mass)
• obol (weight & mass)
• stadion (length)
• Greek foot (Olympic) (length)
• olympiad (time)
• myriad (counting & quantity)

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