Versus Galliambicus (Latin), or the Galliambic Verse (English), is a verse built from two anacreontic cola, the second one catalectic (i.e., lacking its final syllable).[1] The metre typically has resolution in the last metron, and often elsewhere, leading to a run of short syllables at the end. An example is the first line of Catullus's poem 63:
u u - u | - u - - || u u - u u | u u u sŭpĕr āltă vēctŭs Āttĭs || cĕlĕrī rătĕ mărĭă
This metre was used for songs sung by galli (or gallae), eunuch devotees of the goddess Cybele, the ancient nature goddess of Anatolia, who was also known as the Mother of the Gods.[2]
The most famous poem in this metre is Catullus's Attis (poem 63), a poem of 93 lines describing the self-emasculation of a certain Attis, who later regretted his action, but was driven again to a frenzy by the goddess. Apart from this poem only a few isolated lines in the metre exist in Greek and Latin.
- ^ D. S. Raven (1965), Latin metre, p. 130.
- ^ Merriam Webster, Merriam Webster. "Merriam Webster". Merriam Webster. Retrieved March 31, 2020.