That semicolon has been added to the text because a subsequent copyist or editor came to that conclusion. Having dropped capitals, I needed something stronger to differentiate from the normal use of a comma. Consequently I have been a little more sparing in my use of colons elsewhere. There is evidence to show this in the earliest manuscripts, although the form of the mark seems to have been more usually a dieresis or double dot, which in modern convention is reserved for use within rather than at the start of a word. These marks are useful and have been retained.
Smooth breathings serve no useful function at all.
I find it incredible that we have persisted with this convention for so long. A blob over a letter on this site indicates a rough breathing - nothing else. If only one of the changes I am advocating finds widespread acceptance it surely must be this. In most printed texts virtually every word has one accent - either acute, grave or circumflex. Originally accents were introduced as a learning aid for non-Greek speakers to indicate a rising, falling or even pitch or tone.