3 ms·
"The libra (Latin for 'scales / balance') is an ancient Roman unit of mass that was equivalent to approximately 328.9 grams. It was divided into 12 unciae (sing
by minikites 11y ago
"The libra (Latin for 'scales / balance') is an ancient Roman unit of mass that was equivalent to approximately 328.9 grams. It was divided into 12 unciae (singular: uncia), or ounces. The libra is the origin of the abbreviation for pound, 'lb'."
- a_imho 11y agoI was unable to find a definite answer to this, but seeing he was Greek I guess he should have not used it. I understand this is a translation, but changing actual facts in a script then addressing it to someone seems like too much creative freedom to me.
- gjm11 11y agoThe actual unit Aristotle used was the "mna". A mna was 100x as heavy as a drachma. According to Wikipedia (which is always right except when it's wrong) the most commonly used standard in ancient Greece made a drachma weigh about 4.3g, in which case a mna would be about 430g, compared with 454g for a pound weight. So "pound" or "lb" is a pretty good translation for "mna". (The "mna" has rough equivalents in other ancient Near Eastern cultures. There's at least one "mina" in the New Testament, and in the famous "writing on the wall" at Belshazzar's feast -- MENE MENE TEKEL PHARSIN -- "mene" is basically the same word as "mna".)