A lyric metre named after the Greek poet Archilochus.

The metre is made up of two pairs of intermittant catalectic dactylic hexameter and hemiepes (half a dactylic pentameter, or two and a half dactyls) in the following scheme:

-^^/-^^/-^^/-^^/-^^/--
-^^/-^^/-
-^^/-^^/-^^/-^^/-^^/--
-^^/-^^/-

(Each of the dactyls (-^^) can be replaced by Spondees (--) except for the fifth foot of the hexameter. The last syllable of the last feet can be replaced with a short one)

The Caesura will usually appear after the first syllable of either the third or fourth foot. Rarely it will appear between the two short syllables of the third foot.

Example (in Latin):

 -  -/- ^  ^/-  :  ^ ^/-    - /  - ^ ^/ - - 
Diffugere nives,: redeunt iam gramina campis
-  ^ ^/-   ^  ^/ -
arboribusque comae;
 - - / -  ^  ^/-  : - / -  -/ -  ^^/ - -
mutat terra vices,: et decrescentia ripas
  - ^ ^ /  - ^ ^/-
flumina praetereunt;

(Hor. Od. IV, VII 1-4)

* - long or stressed syllable; ^ short or unstressed syllable; : caesura.