The Athenians can be credited with yet another influence on Greek culture and history: the drachma.
The drachma was the standard currency of ancient and modern Greece (until Greece's switch to the Euro, anyway). Its origin can be creditied to the Athenians.
The word drachma comes from the Ancient Greek verb dratto, to group.
Before the Athenians began minting coins, they used small iron rods called obols as their currency. The average adult could hold or grasp six obols in his or her hand, and thus six obols became equal to one drachma, which became the basic denomination of Greek currency.
When the Athenians did begin minting coins around 510 B.C., the drachma continued to be used as the standard basic currency of Greece.
