Melpomene

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Melpomene

Melpomène (Greek ?e?p?µ???, ) ("to sing" or "the one that is melodious") , initially the Muse of Singing, she then became the Muse of Tragedy, for which she is best known now. Her name was derived from the Greek verb melpô or melpomai meaning "to celebrate with dance and song." She is often represented with a tragic mask and wearing the cothurnus, boots traditionally worn by tragic actors. Often, she also holds a knife or club in one hand and the tragic mask in the other.

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Cupressus sempervirens

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. Melpomene is the daughter of Zeus

Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
and Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. This titan was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the Muses by Zeus....
. Her sisters include Calliope

Calliope

File:Calliope.jpgIn Greek mythology, Calliope was the muse of heroic poetry, daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and is now best known as Homer's muse, the inspiration for the Iliad and the Odyssey....
(muse of epic poetry), Clio

Clio

In Greek mythology, Clio or Kleio is the muse of history. Like all the muses, she is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. She had one son, Hyacinth , with the King of Macedonia , Pierus....
(muse of history), Euterpe

Euterpe

In Greek mythology, Euterpe was one of the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne, fathered by Zeus. Called the "Giver of delight", when later poets assigned roles to each of the Muses, she was the muse of music....
(muse of flute playing), Terpsichore

Terpsichore

In Greek mythology, Terpsichore "delight of dancing" was one of the nine Muses, ruling over dance and the dramatic Greek chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance"....
(muse of dancing), Erato

Erato

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(muse of erotic poetry), Thalia

Thalia

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(muse of comedy), Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia , in Greek mythology, was the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn and eloquence as well as agriculture and pantomime. She is also known as the Muse of mime....
(muse of hymns), and Urania

Urania

In Greek mythology, Urania , was the muse of astronomy and astrology. She is usually depicted as having a globe in her left hand. She is able to foretell the future by the position of the stars....
(muse of astronomy).

In Roman and Greek poetry, it was traditional to invoke the goddess Melpomene so that one might create beautiful lyrical phrases (see Horace's Odes).

Melpomene

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