Litra
λίρα
Litra (λίρα) was the unit corresponding, though not equivalent among the Greeks of Sicily, to the libra of the Italians, and in use for weighing various substances, including copper. The word was in use as early as the time of Epicharmus, and occurs frequently in Aristotle. It was divided into twelve ounces, ὀγκίαι. [See PONDERA] Writers like Polybius naturally use the word to render the Latin libra. The weight of the litra was about 3366 grains, 218 grammes (Hultsch, Metrologie, 2nd edit., p. 662). The equivalent in silver of a litra of copper was a small coin weighing 13.5 grains, which was in common use in Sicily, and was the tenth of the Corinthian stater, called from that fact δεκάλιτρος στατήρ Pollux (9.80) gives the value of the silver litra as the same as that of an Aeginetan obol (16 grains); but this is only a rough approximation.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.