consonant or consonants, as Κᾶρ, βοῦς. Improperly we speak of a syllable as composed of a single vowel, as ἆ, ἦ.
9. On Long Syllables (μακραὶ συλλαβαί).
A long syllable may come about in eight ways, three by nature and five by position[1]: by nature, when it is represented by the long elements, as ἥρως—or when one of the doubtful elements is assumed as long, as Ἄρης—or when it contains one of the diphthongs, as Αἴας; by position, either when it ends in two consonants, as ἅλς—or when a short or shortened[2] vowel is followed by two consonants, as ἀργός—or when it ends in a single consonant and the next syllable begins with a consonant, as ἔργον—or when it is followed by a double consonant, as ἔξω—or when it ends in a double consonant, as ἅπαξ.
10. On Short Syllables (βραχεῖαι συλλαβαί).
A syllable becomes short in two ways, either when it contains a vowel naturally short, as βρέφος—or when it has a doubtful vowel assumed as short, as Ἄρης.[3]
11. On Common Syllables (κοιναὶ συλλαβαί).
A syllable is common in three ways, either when it ends in a long vowel while the next syllable begins with a vowel, as
- Οὐτί μοι αἰτίη ἐσσί· θεοί νύ μοι αἴτιοί εἰσιν—
or when a shortened vowel is followed by two consonants, whereof the latter is an unchangeable, while the former is by itself a mute, as
- Πάτροκλέ μοι δειλῇ πλεῖστον κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ—
or when, being short, it stands at the end of a part of speech and the next syllable begins with a vowel, as
- Νέστορα δ’ οὐκ ἔλαθεν ἰαχὴ πίνοντά περ ἔμπης.
- ↑ Position (θέσις), in this connection, does not mean, as is generally supposed, place, but convention, arbitrary imposition, as opposed to nature (φύσις). Vid. Lersch, Sprachphilosophie Pt. I p. 5; Rossbach und Westphal, Metrik der Griechen. vol. ii. p. 74. This shows the utter absurdity of the rule, laid down in so many Greek and Latin grammars, that a vowel followed by two consonants is long.
- ↑ A short vowel is either ε or ο; a shortened vowel is a doubtful vowel (α, ι, υ) assumed as short.
- ↑ Cf. Hom. Il., v. 31:
- Ὰρες, Ἄρες, βροτολοιγέ, μιαιφόνε, τειχεσιπλῆτα.
