Melpomene the "chanting one", muse of tragedy

The Muses, when taken together, form a complete picture of the subjects proper to poetic art, the association of specific muses with specific art forms is a later innovation. However, the Muses were not assigned standardized divisions of poetry with which they are now identified until late Hellenistic times. The canonical nine Muses, with their fields of patronage, as established since the Renaissance are as follows:

Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet [link]
Cleo (history) carries a scroll and books [link]
Erato (love poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses [link]
Euterpe (music) carries a flute [link]
Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask [link]
Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) is often seen with a pensive expression [link]
Terpsichore (dance) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre [link]
Thalia (comedy) is often seen with a comic mask [link]
Urania (astronomy) carries a staff pointed at a celestial globe [link]

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