Melpomene

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Melpomene (disambiguation).
Melpomene
Goddess of Tragedy and Chorus
Member of the Muses
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
AbodeMount Olympus
SymbolsTragic mask
Personal information
ParentsZeus and Mnemosyne
SiblingsEuterpe, Polyhymnia, Urania, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Terpsichore, Calliope and several paternal half-siblings
ConsortAchelous
Childrenthe Sirens
Melpomene by Joseph Fagnani (1869)

In

theatrical mask
.

Etymology

Melpomene's name is derived from the Greek verb melpô or melpomai meaning "to celebrate with dance and song".[1] The Oxford English Dictionary cites μέλπειν (melpein – to sing).[2]

Myth

Melpomene is one of the nine

Apollodorus, and Diodorus Siculus all held that Melpomene was the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. She was the sister of the other Muses, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania.[3] Apollodorus, Lycophron, and Gaius Julius Hyginus said that Melpomene was the mother of the sirens,[3] though some ancient writers identified this role with other figures.[5]

Melpomene is described as singing songs of mourning for people of note after they die, particularly for poets.[6]

Iconography and depiction

Depictions of Melpomene may include a tragic mask,

Anthony Pasquin described Melpomene as "murder-loving".[7]

The iconographer

cothurni". Another describes her as being "of a grave aspect, in a heroic dress, with her head finely attired; she holds a cup in one hand, and a dagger in the other, with a crown and scepter at her feet; she is shod in buskins, which were used by the ancient tragedians. The grave aspect and heroic dress, denote that tragedy is a representation of famous deeds and of history".[7]

Invocation and use

Literature

In Greek and Latin poetry since Horace (d. 8 BC), it was commonly auspicious to invoke Melpomene.[8] Horace invokes Melpomene in Ode 3.30, when he describes his poetry as a monument as great as any king's tomb. The poet asks Melpomene to crown him with a laurel wreath and make him a poet laureate.[9]

Visual art

The oldest surviving portrait of Virgil, a mosaic dated to the first century, features Virgil between Melpomene and Clio, the muse of history. Theologian Louis A. Ruprecht interpreted this as a commentary on the similarities of recording history and writing fictional works of tragedy.[10]

The 2018 excavation of the a

Pentelic marble. Its head was lost, but it was identifiable by the drama mask laying on its thigh.[11]

The tragic actress Sarah Siddons posed for several paintings depicted as Melpomene in the 1780s and 1790s. The 1784 Joshua Reynolds painting Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse is recognized as a high point in the careers of both Siddons and Reynolds.[12]

Science

The minor planet 18 Melpomene was named after the muse by the British Astronomer Royal in 1852, George Biddell Airy. He chose a name representing tragedy because his son had died on the day it was discovered, which was also the thirteenth anniversary of his daughter's death.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Compare: Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1882). Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary of Difficult Words. London: Ward, Lock, & Co. p. 645. Retrieved 12 May 2022. melpo, to sing
  2. ^ "melpomenish". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) - " < μέλπειν to sing, of unknown origin"
  3. ^ a b c Atsma, Aaron J. "Melpomene". Theoi Project. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  4. JSTOR 30053950
    .
  5. ^ Atsma, Aaron J. "Sirens (Seirenes)". Theoi Project. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-135-96390-3
    .
  7. ^
    JSTOR 30053950
    .
  8. ISBN 0313308136
  9. ISBN 978-3-11-079885-2
    .
  10. JSTOR 41299101
    .
  11. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102862
    .
  12. JSTOR 30053950
    .
  13. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3
    .

References

External links

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