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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
Genealogy
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), is, 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".^[1]

Appearance

Polymnia 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.^[2]

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...".^[3]

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,^[4] and of the musician Orpheus by Apollo.^[5]

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.^[2]

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.^[2]
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

Notes

^ "Polyhymnia". Theoi. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Polyhymnia". talesbeyondbelief. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
^ 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.
^ Scholia on Hesiod, Works and Days, 1, p. 28
^ Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.23

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.