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CHOENIX (χοῖνιξ,--ι<*>κος, in Attic feminine, in Hellenistic masculine). The Schol. on Ar. Plut. 276, where χοῖνιξ means some kind of shackle or stocks for putting the legs in (cf. Dem. de Cor. 270.129), says χοῖνιξ δὲ πᾶν περιφερές: διὸ καὶ τὸ μέτρον χοῖνιξ καλεῖται. Accordingly χοινίκη or χοινικίς, “the nave,” and χοινίκιον, “the trepan,” mentioned by Celsus, 8.3: χοινικίδες, rings serving as stands, Dem. c. Androt. p. 616.72; c. Timocr. p. 756.180. But χοῖνιξ is best known as a dry measure of capacity. In Hom. Od. 19.118, a χοῖνιξ of corn is the ordinary wages for a day's work. It was the minimum daily allowance on which a man could adequately live (Hdt. 7.187), and was what slaves received (Thuc. 4.16, and Arnold ad loc.): cf. κενεὰν ἀπομάσσειν (Theocr. 15.95), χοίνικα ἀπομάσσειν (Lucian, Navig. 25), also ἐπὶ χοίνικος καθῆσθαι, to think only of to-day's bread (Plut. 2.703 E). Hence the Corinthians, who had vast numbers of slaves, were called “choenix-measurers” by the Pythia (Boeckh, Pol. Ec., Eng. Trans., p. 91). The capacity of the χοῖνιξ varied (see F. Hultsch, Metrologici Script., Index, s.v.

1. The Attic χοῖνιξ was = 2 sextarii = 4 κοτύλαι = 1.094 litres = 1.922 Eng. pints: cf. Ar. Nub. 645, where the ἡμίεκτον (= 1/12 μέδιμνος） is called τετράμετρον, i. e. = 4 χοίνικες. See Hultsch, Metrologie der Griechen, &c. p. 105, and esp. note 4. The Pontic χοῖνιξ appears to have been the same = 2 sextarii.

2. The Aeginetan measures are to the Attic = 11 1/13:8

ZZZ.

the Aeginetan χοῖνιξ would be = 5 1/2 Attic κοτύλαι (Metrol. der Griech. 501) = 1.516 litres = 2.668 Eng. pints. This is also the Boeotian measure (ib. 543).

3. In the Ptolemaic measures (i. e. those used in Syria and Egypt) the μέδιμνος was = 1 1/2 Attic μέδιμνοι; but there were 96 instead of 48 χοίνικες in it

ZZZ.

a Ptolemaic χοῖνιξ = 3/4 Attic χοῖνιξ = 0.8208 litres= 1.443 Eng. pints.

The symbol for χοῖνιξ is χν or χοι (Metrol. Script. 219, 17).

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities

Ancient Greece

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