Melpomene
Sign in to savethumb|Melpomene by Joseph Fagnani (1869) Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask.
AI overview
Melpomene is the ancient Greek muse associated with tragedy, typically shown holding a tragic theatrical mask. As one of the nine muses and daughter of Zeus and the goddess of memory, she represented the literary and artistic tradition of tragic drama in classical mythology.
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Key facts
- Deity.siblings
- Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Urania, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Terpsichore, Calliope and several paternal half-siblings
- Deity.consort
- Achelous
- Deity.children
- the Sirens
- Deity.type
- Greek
- Deity.name
- Melpomene
- Deity.image
- Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek - Melpomene.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Roman statue of Melpomene, 2nd century AD. The muse is shown in a long-sleeved garment with a high belt, clothing that was associated with tragic actors. Her wreath of vines and grapes alludes to Dionysus, the god of the theatre
- Deity.god_of
- Goddess of Tragedy and Chorus
- Deity.symbols
- Tragic mask
- Deity.member_of
- the Muses
- Deity.abode
- Mount Olympus
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Myth
- Iconography and depiction
- Invocation and use
- Literature
- Visual art
- Science
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|Melpomene by Joseph Fagnani (1869) Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask.
== Etymology == Melpomene's name (implying the meaning "Songstress") is derived by etymologists from the Ancient Greek verb (melpô) or from its inflexion μέλπομαι (melpomai) meaning "to celebrate with dance and song". The Oxford English Dictionary cites μέλπειν (melpein – to sing).