§ 25 — A. R. Benner Selections from Homer's Iliad 2

Hiatus (Latin for ‘gaping’) occurs when a word ending in a vowel immediately precedes another which begins with a vowel. It may be avoided, of course, by elision, as ἔφατ'(ο) εὐχόμενος. It is chiefly found under the following conditions:

1. If the first of the two words ends in a long vowel or a diphthong which is regarded and used as a short syllable. This shortening of a final long vowel or diphthong in the arsis, before an initial vowel of the following word, is very common. E. g.

a. Final -αι and -οι, though short in determining word accent, are metrically l ong except under the condition just noted.

2. If the first word ends in -ι (dative singular of third declension) or -υ. E. g. B 6, Ἀγαμεμνονι οὖλον. Ω 387, σύ ἐσσι. But many such instances (e. g. A 393) must be referred to § 25.3.

3. If the first word is followed by a natural pause ( § 16, § 19, 20). E. g.

(a) Feminine caesura of third foot:

A 27, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντα || ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα.

(b) Masculine caesura of third foot:

A 114, κουριδίης ἀλόχου, || ἐπεὶ οὔ ἑθέν ἐστι χερείων.

(c) Bucolic diaeresis:

B 3, ἀλλ' ὅ γε μερμήριζε κατὰ φρένα, | ὡς Ἀχιλῆα.

(d) Diaeresis after first foot:

I 247, ἀλλ' ἄνα, | εἰ μέμονάς γε κτλ.

After the formula αὐτὰρ ὅ at the beginning of a line hiatus is several times found (as in A 333), although there is actually no pause in sense.

4. If the first word ends with the thesis of a foot, even when no natural pause occurs at that point. E. g.