Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime.

File:Palestra grande di pompei, affreschi di Moregine, terzo triclinio, IV stile, epoca neroniana, 03 figura.jpg

Polyhymnia on an antique fresco from Pompeii

Etymology

Polyhymnia's name comes from the Greek words "poly", meaning "many", and "hymnos", which means "praise".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Appearance

Polyhymnia is depicted as serious, pensive and meditative, and often holding a finger to her mouth, dressed in a long cloak and veil and resting her elbow on a pillar. Polyhymnia is also sometimes credited as being the Muse of geometry and meditation.<ref name="talesbeyondbelief">Template:Cite web</ref>

In Bibliotheca historica, Diodorus Siculus wrote, "Polyhymnia, because by her great (polle) praises (humnesis) she brings distinction to writers whose works have won for them immortal fame...".<ref>Diodorus Siculus Library of History (Books III - VIII). Translated by Oldfather, C. H. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 303 and 340. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1935.</ref>

Family

As one of the Muses, Polyhymnia is the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne. She was also described as the mother of Triptolemus by Cheimarrhoos, son of Ares,<ref>Scholia on Hesiod, Works and Days, 1, p. 28</ref> and of the musician Orpheus by Apollo.<ref>Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.23</ref>

Dedications

On Mount Parnassus, there was a spring sacred to the Muses. It was said to flow between two big rocks above Delphi, then down into a large square basin. The water was used by the Pythia, who were priests and priestesses, for oracular purposes including divination.<ref name="talesbeyondbelief"/>

In popular culture

• In astronomy, there are ten asteroids named after the Muses, and moons named after another two. The one named after Polyhymnia is a main belt asteroid discovered by Jean Chacornac, a French astronomer, in 1854.<ref name="talesbeyondbelief"/>
• Polyhymnia appears in Dante's Divine Comedy: Paradiso. Canto XXIII, line 56, and is referenced in modern works of fiction.

Gallery

• Polyhymnia, Friedrich Ochs, 1857
  Polyhymnia, Friedrich Ochs, 1857
• Polyhymnia, Milano
  Polyhymnia, Milano
• Polyhymnia, Giovanni Baglione, 1620
  Polyhymnia, Giovanni Baglione, 1620
• Polyhymnia, Francesco del Cossa, 1455 – 1460
  Polyhymnia, Francesco del Cossa, 1455 – 1460
• Polyhymnia, Giuseppe Fagnani, 1869
  Polyhymnia, Giuseppe Fagnani, 1869
• Cast of Polyhymnia, Pushkin Museum, Moscow
  Cast of Polyhymnia, Pushkin Museum, Moscow

See also

• Muses in popular culture
• Asteroid 33 Polyhymnia

References

• Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
• Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1–2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Primary sources and basic information concerning Polyhymnia
• Polyhymnia in painting
• Warburg Institute Iconographic Database