Melpomene
Muse of tragedy who inspires dramatic works exploring suffering and fate
The Myth of Melpomene
Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy, one of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Her name means "the songstress" or "she who sings," originally linking her to choral performance. Over time, as Greek drama evolved, she became specifically associated with tragic theatre. She was depicted wearing a tragic mask, sometimes holding a knife or club, and wearing the cothurnus — the thick-soled boot worn by tragic actors to increase their height and presence on stage. In some traditions she was the mother of the Sirens, those creatures whose irresistible song lured sailors to destruction, a fitting offspring for the patron of tragic performance. Together with Thalia, the Muse of comedy, she represented the two masks of drama that remain iconic symbols of theatre today.
Parents
Zeus and Mnemosyne
Children
The Sirens (in some traditions)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The paired masks of tragedy and comedy seen on theatres worldwide trace back directly to Melpomene and Thalia
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Thalia
⚡ godComedy and pastoral poetry
Muse of comedy and pastoral verse who inspires laughter and rustic song
Tragedy
💭 conceptLanguage and drama
An English word for a serious dramatic work ending in suffering, derived from the Greek tragodia meaning "goat song," possibly referring to the goat sacrificed to Dionysus or awarded as a prize
Sophocles
💭 conceptTragedy, fate, heroism
Athenian tragedian who introduced the third actor and created Oedipus and Antigone
Sappho
🗡 heroGreatest lyric poet, legend of Lesbos
Sappho was the historical poet of Lesbos whose life became so encrusted with legend — especially her alleged leap from the Leucadian cliff — that she exists at the boundary of myth and history.
Amphissa
🗡 heroLove, tragedy
Daughter of Macareus who was beloved by Apollo and gave her name to the city of Amphissa in Locris
Melinoe
⚡ godUnderworld
A chthonic goddess of ghosts and nightmares who drove mortals to madness with spectral visions
Anticleia
🗡 heroNone recorded
The mother of Odysseus who died of grief during her son's long absence at Troy, appearing to him as a shade when he visited the underworld
Agave
🗡 heromadness
Mother of Pentheus and daughter of Cadmus who tore her own son apart while possessed by Dionysian madness.
Euterpe
⚡ godMusic and lyric poetry
Muse of music and flute playing who delights those who hear her melodies
Dionysus
⚡ godGod of wine, festivity, theatre, ecstasy, madness
God of wine, ritual madness, and theatrical performance. Dionysus was the only Olympian born of a mortal mother and the last god to join the twelve.
Penthus
⚡ godGrief, mourning, lamentation
The daimon of grief and sorrow who embodied the deep anguish of bereavement
Macaria
🗡 heroSelf-Sacrifice, Female Heroism, Heraclidae
Daughter of Heracles who voluntarily sacrificed herself so that the Heraclidae could defeat Eurystheus.