Terpsichore

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Terpsichore

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Terpsichore (?e???????) "delight of dancing" was one of the nine Muses, ruling over dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
and the dramatic chorus

Greek chorus

The Greek chorus is a group of twelve or fifteen minor actors in tragedy and twenty-four in Ancient Greek comedy plays of classical Athens....
. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". She is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre

Lyre

The lyre is a string instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. The recitations of the Ancient Greece were accompanied by lyre playing....
, accompanying with her music to the dancers' choirs.

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In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Dance

Greek chorus

Lyre

Siren

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum...
s by Achelous

Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
. Her name comes from the Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
words t??p? ("delight") and ?o??? ("dance").

Historical references

Terpsichore figures among her sisters in Hesiod
Hesiod

Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
's Theogony
Theogony

The Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogy of the polytheism of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC....
.
"Terpsichore" is the title of a large collection of dance tunes collected by Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius

Michael Praetorius was a German composer, organ , and writer about music. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant Reformation hymns....
, some originating with Pierre-Francisque Caroubel
Pierre-Francisque Caroubel

Pierre-Francisque Caroubel was a French violinist and composer who collaborated with Michael Praetorius and is known for his dance music, bransles and galliards, some of which were published after his death in the anthology Secret des muses ....
.
Terpsichore is also found in Couperin
Couperin

The Couperin family was a dynastic musical family of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in France musical history, and were very active during the Baroque era....
's "Second Ordre" from the "Pieces de clavecin".
British 32-gun frigate
Frigate

A frigate is a warship. The term has been used for warships of many sizes and roles over the past few centuries.In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square rig on all three masts , but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort....
HMS Terpsichore commanded by Captain Bowen participated in Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)
Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)

The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was an amphibious assault by the Royal Navy on the Spain port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands....
.
Terpsichore is also found in the third version (HWV 8c) of Handel
HANDEL

HANDEL was the code-name for the United Kingdom's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges....
's opera Il pastor fido
Il pastor fido

Il pastor fido is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was set to a libretto by Giacomo Rossi based on the famed and widely familiar pastoral poem of the same name by Giovanni Battista Guarini....
. This opera is sometimes referred to as Terpsicore and Il pastor fido.
When The Histories of Herodotus
Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
were divided by later editors into nine books, each book was named after a Muse. Terpischore was the name of the fifth book.

Terpsichore

Historical references

See also