A step (Latin: gradus, pl. gradūs) was a Roman unit of length equal to 2½ Roman feet (pedes) or ½ Roman pace (passus). Following its standardization under Agrippa, one step was roughly equivalent to 0.81 yards or 0.74 meters.
The Byzantine pace (Ancient Greek: βήμα, bḗma) was an adaption of the Roman step, a distance of 2½ Greek feet.
Similarly, the US customary pace is a distance of 2½ feet or 30 inches (760 mm).
See also
References
- Schilbach, Erich, Byzantinische Metrologie. (in German)
- Ménage, V.L. (1973), "Reviews: Speros Vryonis, Jr.: The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the process of islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century.", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 36, No. 3, University of London, pp. 659–661, JSTOR 613605.
- Schilbach, cited by Ménage.
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