The Muses
- Looks after
- Tragedy
- Often shown with
- The tragic mask, a club or sword, the boots of tragic actors.
Melpomene
Μελπομένη
Melpomene is the Muse of tragedy. Her name means to sing or celebrate.
Melpomene is one of the nine Muses. In Hellenistic and Roman times she was the Muse of tragedy. In art she holds a tragic mask, often with a club or sword, and wears the high boots (cothurni) of the tragic actor.
In some accounts she is the mother of the Sirens, by the river god Achelous. Since the Sirens' songs lured sailors to their death, this ties her to a darker use of music.
Ancient sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 77
- Apollodorus, Epitome 7.18