Anceps

Anceps is a term in epic poetry relating to the dactylic hexameter. In Latin, anceps means two-headed, and an anceps is the final syllable in a hexameter verse which can be either long or short. Dactylic hexameter was the most common meter in the poetry of ancient Greece and Rome and was used in the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer and in the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil. See diagram.

Selected terms relating to the dactylic hexameter.

Further information

• See hexametrica Glossary of terms relating to dactylic hexameter