Melpomene The tragic Muse, MELPOMENE (whose name derives from a Greek verb meaning “to celebrate with dance and song”), represented originally the chorus and then the whole of tragedy—a very important fusing of music, poetry, drama, mask, dance, song, and religious celebration. Tragic actors wore a type of thick-soled boot,26 called a “buskin” in English and the cothurnus in Greek; and Melpomene is usually depicted either holding or wearing these, as well as, of course, the famous tragic mask with its unhappy down-curved lips. Along with her sister Terpsichore, she was a mother to the Sirens,
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