Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary

διά (cf. δύο): between, through, originally denoting severance.—I. adv. (here belong the examples of ‘tmesis’ so-called), διὰ δ᾽ ἔπτατο πικρὸς ὀιστός, Il. 5.99; διά τ̓ ἔτρεσαν ἄλλυδις ἄλλος (defined by ἄλλυδις ἄλλος), Il. 17.729 ; διὰ κτῆσιν δατέοντο, ‘between’ themselves, Il. 5.158 ; κλέος διὰ ξεῖνοι φορέουσιν, ‘abroad,’ Od. 19.333; freq. with an explanatory gen. in the same clause, thus preparing the way for the strict prepositional use, διὰ δ᾽ ἧκε σιδήρου, Od. 21.328; διὰ δ̓ αὐτοῦ πεῖρεν ὀδόντων, Il. 16.405; with another adv., διὰ δ᾽ ἀμπερές, ‘through and through,’ Il. 11.377, etc.— II. prep., (1) w. gen., (αἴγλη) δἰ αἰθέρος οὐρανὸν ἷκεν, Il. 2.458; διὰ νήσου ἰών, ‘along through,’ Od. 12.335 ; ὃ δ᾽ ἔπρεπε καὶ διὰ πάντων, ‘among,’ ‘amid,’ Il. 12.104.—(2) w. acc., local (temporal) and causal; διὰ δώματα ποιπνυ?οντα, Il. 1.600; fig., μῦθον, ὃν οὔ κεν ἀνήρ γε διὰ στόμα πάμπαν ἄγοιτο, Il. 14.91; μή πως καὶ διὰ νύκτα καρηκομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ | φεύγειν ὁρμήσωνται, ‘during’ the night, Il. 8.511 ; δἰ ἀτασθαλία_ς ἔπαθον κακόν, ‘by reason of,’ Od. 23.67 ; καὶ νήεσσ᾽ ἡγήσατ̓ Ἀχαιῶν -Ἴλιον εἴσω | ἣν διὰ μαντοσύνην, ‘through,’ ‘by means of,’ Il. 1.72.—The first syllable of διά is lengthened at the beginning of some verses, Il. 3.357, Il. 4.135, Il. 7.251, Il. 11.435.