Melpomene

Muse of tragedy in the Hellenistic-Roman canon; her name means 'the singer' (from μέλπω, to sing and dance in a choral performance). Named at Hes. *Theog.* 77. The dominant Greek tradition makes her mother of the Sirens by the river-god Achelous. Her iconographic attributes are the tragic mask, buskin, and often a club or sword.

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