Stadium

( Stadion, Fr. ) An ancient Greek long measure, containing 125 geometrical paces, or 625 Roman feet, corresponding to our furlong. This word is formed from the Greek term, which signifies station. It is said that Hercules after running that distance at one breath, stood still. The Greeks measured all their distances by stadia. The Romans had, likewise, their stadia, derived from the Greek, by which they measured distances. The stadium of Rome contained 620 geometrical paces. Eight stadia make one Italian mile.