The ''lepton'', plural ''lepta'' ( el, λεπτόν, ), is the name of various fractional units of

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

used in the Greek-speaking world from antiquity until today. The word means "small" or "thin", and during Classical and

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

times a ''lepton'' was always a small value coin, usually the smallest available denomination of another currency.Fleur de Coin - Greek 50 Lepta Coins
/ref> The coin in the

lesson of the widow's mite The lesson of the widow's mite or the widow's offering is presented in the Synoptic Gospels (, ), in which Jesus is teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Gospel of Mark specifies that two ''mites'' (Greek ''lepta'') are together worth a ''qu ...

(, ) is referred to as a ''lepton'' and

Luke's Gospel The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

also refers to the lepton or mite when stating that a person who does not make peace with his adversary in good time will be required to pay 'to the very last mite' before being released from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

. In the Hasmonean Kingdom the lepton was first minted under

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...

prior to 76 BCE.''Coins of the Bible'' Set 2 of 3,

Whitman Publishing Whitman Publishing is an American book publishing company which started as a subsidiary of the Western Printing & Lithographing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. In about 1915, Western began printing and binding a line of juvenile books for the Hammi ...

, LLC, 2004. In

modern Greece The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition by the Great Powers — Britain, France and Russia — of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 to the present day. Background The Byzantine Empire had ...

, ''lepton'' (modern form: ''lepto'', λεπτό) is the name of the denomination of all the official currencies of the Greek state: the

phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

(1827–1832), the

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...

(1832–2001) and the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

(2002–current) – the name is the Greek form of " cent". Its unofficial currency sign is Λ (lambda). Since the late 1870s, and until the introduction of the euro in 2001, no Greek coin had been minted with a denomination lower than 5 ''lepta''. File:Lepta 20.jpg, 20-lepton coin, Phoenician subdivision, 1831. File:5 lepta 1833, Greece.jpg, 5-lepton coin, drachma subdivision, 1833. File:10 lepta 1849, Greece.jpg, 10-lepton coin, drachma subdivision, 1849. File:1 lepton 1869, Greece.jpg, One-lepton coin of 1879, the last one-lepton coin of the drachma issued. File:2 lepta 1869, Greece.jpg, 2-lepton coin 1869. The last two-lepton coins were minted in 1878. File:widowsmite.jpg, An ancient mite of a type still circulating in

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

' time, typical of what might have appeared in the ''Bibles

References

External links

Greek Lepta Coins Information
Coins of ancient Greece Currencies of Europe Coins in the Bible {{Greece-stub