While schoinion does mean cord or rope , it is a very specific rope. It is a rope made of a specific length with knots in it. It is a tool mainly for builders and construction. Not just a simple cord or rope.


Schoinion, a cord of some standard length, Schoinourgos, the land surveyor. Heron of Alexandria knew that for example the length of the schoinion could change by humidity and he gave some recipes how to keep the distance as constant as possible, by hanging weights or smearing the schoinion with wax. The schoinion was 100 cubits divided in 8 hammata (knots)