What is "galliambic"

Galliambic \Gal`li*am"bic\, a. [L. galliambus a song used by the priests of Cybele; Gallus (a name applied to these priests) + iambus] (Pros.) Consisting of two iambic dimeters catalectic, the last of which lacks the final syllable; -- said of a kind of verse.

Galliambic metre is constructed as shown below:

˘ ˘ – ˘ – ˘ – –// ˘ ˘ – ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ×

This metre, meant for the frenzied cult of the eastern goddess Cybele, is best known from its use in Catullus 63. The meter admits of many substitutions of two short syllables for a long, as in line 63, the longest line in the poem:

Ěgǒ mǔlǐěr, ěgo adǒlēscēns, ěgo ěphēbǔs, ěgǒ pǔêr - Catullus 63 Line 63

• The syllaba anceps has been shown with a circumflex .

Category:Types of verses