Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia
Goddess of Hymns
Member of the Muses
Roman statue of Polyhymnia, 2nd century AD, depicting her in the act of dancing
Abode	Mount Olympus
Personal information
Parents	Zeus and Mnemosyne
Siblings	Euterpe, Calliope, Urania, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Terpsichore, Melpomene and several paternal half-siblings
Children	Orpheus, Triptolemus

Polyhymnia (/pɒliˈhɪmniə/; Greek: Πολυύμνια, lit. 'the one of many hymns'), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), was, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime.

Etymology

Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly", meaning "many", and "hymnos", which means "praise".^{[citation needed]}

Appearance

Polymnia is depicted as very 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.^[1]

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...".^[2]

Family

As one of the Muses, Polyhymnia was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne. She was also described as the mother of Triptolemus by Cheimarrhoos, son of Ares,^[3] and of the musician Orpheus by Apollo.^[4]

Dedications

On Mount Parnassus, there was a spring that was sacred to Polyhymnia and the other 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.^[1]

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.^[1]
• 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, Milano
• 
  Polyhymnia, Giovanni Baglione, 1620
• 
  Polyhymnia, Francesco del Cossa, 1455–1460
• 
  Polyhymnia, Giuseppe Fagnani, 1869
• 
  Cast of Polyhymnia, Pushkin Museum, Moscow

See also

• Muses in popular culture
• Asteroid 33 Polyhymnia

Notes

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

• Media related to Polyhymnia at Wikimedia Commons
• Primary sources and basic information concerning Polyhymnia
• Polyhymnia in painting
• Warburg Institute Iconographic Database