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Drachma (pl. drachmas or drachmae) is the name of: 1. An ancient currency unit found in many Greek city states and successor states, and in many South-West Asian kingdoms of the Hellenistic era. 2. The modern Greek currencies. Ancient drachma The name drachma is derived from the verb "dratto" (to grasp). Initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six oboloi (metal sticks), which were used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC. It was the standard unit of silver coinage at most ancient Greek mints, and the name 'obol' was used to describe a coin that was one-sixth of a drachma. The 5th century BC Athenian tetradrachmon ("four drachmae") coin was the most widely used coin in the Greek world prior to the time of Alexander the Great. It featured the helmeted profile bust of Athena on the obverse (front) and an owl on the reverse (back). In daily use they were called glaukai (owls), hence the phrase 'an owl to Athens', referring to something that was in plentiful supply, like 'coals to Newcastle'. The reverse is featured on the national side of the modern Greek 1 euro coin. Drachmas were minted on different weight standards at different Greek mints. The standard that came to be most commonly used was the Athenian or Attic one, which weighed a little over 4.3 grams. After Alexander the Great's conquests, the name drachma was used in many of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the Middle East, including the Ptolemaic kingdom in Alexandria. Historic currency divisions: 8 chalkoi = 1 obol 6 obols = 1 drachma 100 drachmae = 1 mina or mna 60 minae = 1 Athenian Talent (Athenian standard) Minae and talents were never actually minted: they represented weight measures used for commodities (e.g. grain) as well as metals like silver or gold. It was the fourth part of a Stater, the 100 part of a mina, and the 6.000 part of a talent. Modern drachma Coins in circulation at the time of the adoption of the euro were: 1 d

Modern Greek is a 2008 documentary with a runtime of 31 minutes.