Lesson plan based on Alexander Coin
Calculate ancient Greek coin values as compared to their weight, equivalence in grain, and determine their worth today.
Skills and Focus: Calculation
Subject Area: Mathematics
Thematic Connection: Money, Counting and Calculating, Connecting Past and Present
Grade Level: Middle School
Time Needed: 45 minutes
Objectives
• Understand how to calculate fractions of a given weight.
• Use decimal numbers.
• Convert from metric to U.S. customary weight systems.
Instructional Materials Needed
Online Resources:
• Demosthenes, Against Phormio 39:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=dem.+34.39&word=grain
•Aristotle, Economics 1352b:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=aristot.+econ.+1352b&vers
Activity
Step 1: Distribute the chart and work with students to calculate the missing values. Ask students to suggest the appropriate calculations.
Step 2: After calculating the value of the coins, relate their value to that of a silver dollar (1 oz.). Calculate how much the silver in these ancient Greek coins would be worth today (assuming the value of silver at $7.50/oz.).
Step 3: Look through the following passages together with the class in order to learn the prices in silver of ancient grain. Demosthenes, in Against Phormio 39, mentions the price of about 12 gallons of grain in Greece as being 5 drachmae. Aristotle, in Economics 1352b, mentions the price for the same amount of grain in Egypt as 10 drachmae. If grain weighs about 5 pounds to the gallon, was silver more or less valuable in ancient Athens then it is today? In ancient Egypt?
Goals
This activity meets Illinois State Goal 6: Demonstrate and apply a knowledge and sense of numbers, including basic arithmetic operations, number patterns, ratios, and proportions.
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Find the Values of Ancient Greek Coins |
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| obol
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1/6 drachma | |
| diobol
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1/3 drachma | |
| drachma
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4.1g | |
| didrachm
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2 drachmae | |
| tetradrachm
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4 drachmae | |
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