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The Attis poem of Catullus has long been acknowledged for the excellence of its poetry and its unique meter. It is perhaps the best example of how Catullus used his poetic instruments in orchestrating a masterfully arranged verse presentation.
The heart of the poetic orchestration is the galliambic meter, a verse form named after the priests of Cybele--the Galli/ae--and designed to represent the frenetic nature of the worship of the Phrygian mother-goddess. This document attempts to demonstrate how the meter ebbs and flows with the emotions of the poem, thereby giving the reader or listener another dimension of experiencing the narrative. What follows is: