The ultimate ancestor of the helek was a small Babylonian time period called a barleycorn, itself equal to 1/72 of a Babylonian time degree (1° of celestial rotation).
O devanceiro último do helec era un pequeno período de tempo babilónico chamado mazaroca de orxo, equivalente a 1/72 dun grao de tempo babilónico (1° de rotación celeste).