DOS (φερνή, προΐξ), dowry. (1) GREEK. In the Homeric times it was
customary for the husband to purchase his wife from her relations,
by gifts called ἕδνα or ἔεδνα. But at Athens, during the historical
period, the contrary was the case; for every woman had to bring her
husband some dowry, and so universal was the practice, that one of
the chief distinctions between a wife and a παλλακή, or concubine,
consisted in the former having a portion, whereas the latter had
not; hence, persons who married wives without portions appear to
have given them or their guardians an acknowledgment in writing by
which the receipt of a portion was admitted. Moreover, poor heiresses
were either married or portioned by their next of kin, according to
a law, which fixed the amount of portion to be given at five minae
by a Pentacosiomedimnus, three by a Horseman, and one and a half by
a Zeugites. The husband had to give to the relatives or guardians
of the wife security (ἀποτίμημα) for the dowry, which was not
considered the property of the husband himself, but rather of his
wife and children. The portion was returned to the wife in case of a
divorce.--(2) ROMAN. The _dos_ among the Romans was every thing which
on the occasion of a woman’s marriage was transferred by her, or by
another person, to the husband. All the property of the wife which
was not made dos continued to be her own, and was comprised under the
name of _parapherna_. The dos upon its delivery became the husband’s
property, and continued to be his so long as the marriage relation
existed. In the case of divorce, the woman, or her relations, could
bring an action for the restitution of the dos; and, accordingly, a
woman whose dos was large (_dotata uxor_) had some influence over her
husband, inasmuch as she had the power of divorcing herself, and thus
of depriving him of the enjoyment of her property.
[Illustration: Attic Drachma. (British Museum.)]
DRACHMA (δραχμή), the principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two
chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic
and Aeginetan. The average value of the Attic drachma was 9¾_d._ of
our money. It contained six obols (ὀβολοί); and the Athenians had
separate silver coins, from four drachmae to a quarter of an obol.
There were also silver pieces of two drachmae and four drachmae.
(See tables.) The tetradrachm in later times was called _stater_.
The latter word also signifies a gold coin, equal in value to twenty
drachmae [STATER]. The obolos, in later times, was of bronze: but in
the best times of Athens we only read of silver obols. The χαλκοῦς
was a copper coin, and the eighth part of an obol. The Attic
standard prevailed most in the maritime and commercial states. It
was the standard of Philip’s gold, and was introduced by Alexander
for silver also.--The Aeginetan standard appears to have been the
prevalent one in early times: we are told that money was first coined
at Aegina by order of Pheidon at Argos. In later times the Aeginetan
standard was used in almost all the states of the Peloponnesus,
except Corinth. The average value of the Aeginetan drachma was 1_s._
1¾_d._ in our money; and the values of the different coins of this
standard are as follows:--
| Shill. | Pence. | Farth.
½ Obol | - | 1 | 0·583
Obol | - | 2 | 1·166
Diobolus | - | 4 | 2·33
Triobolus | - | 6 | 2·5
Drachma | 1 | 1 | 3
Didrachm | 2 | 3 | 2
[Illustration: Aeginetan Drachma. (British Museum.)]
As the Romans reckoned in sesterces, so the Greeks generally reckoned
by drachmae; and when a sum is mentioned in the Attic writers,
without any specification of the unit, drachmae are usually meant.