In reviewing the precursors of verse numbers in the New Testament, I naturally was reminded of stichio ... a count used for, among other things, ensuring the copied text is as long as the original. I came across the interesting fact that there are approximately 21 stichio per 2 verses. That document defined a stichio is terms of "words to be read before taking a breathe" i.e. related to our "sense lines"; however, I ran into another resource that defined a stichio as a fixed length of line "as long as an epic hexameter and contained about 15 syllables or 35 Greek letters." used as a unit for paying copyists and identifying locations in the text similar to line numbers on a legal form. Anyone know enough Greek to send me off to a source that would explain the discrepancy?
