], but at length came to be figured like an s drawn crosswise [῀].[14]
The acute accent raises the voice, and affects one or more of the last three syllables of a word, if it has so many.
The grave depresses the voice, and affects the last syllable only.
The circumflex lengthens the sound, and affects either the last syllable of a word or the last but one.
There are two spirits, or breathings: the asper [῾], which is equivalent to the modern letter h; and the lenis [᾿], which has no perceptible power, and indicates the bare opening of the mouth and simple emission of the voice.
All the words that begin with a vowel have one of these breathings over them; but the vowel upsilon admits of no other than the spiritus asper at the beginning of a word.
In diphthongs the spiritus is put over the second vowel: as αὐτὸς, not ἀυτὸς.
The letter ρ, at the beginning of a word, has an asper over it, as, ῥέω; and where two ρs meet in a word, the first has a lenis, and the other an asper.