Terpsichore

{{Short description|Muse of dancing and chorus in Greek mythology}}

{{Infobox deity

|type = Greek

|name = Terpsichore

|image = Terpsichore from Villa Adriana (Prado E-41) 01.jpg

|caption = Greek statue of Terpsichore from Hadrian's villa, presently at the Prado Museum (Madrid)

|god_of = Goddess of Dancing and Chorus

|symbols = Lyre

|member_of = the Muses

|abode = Mount Olympus

|parents = Zeus and Mnemosyne

|siblings = Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Urania, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Calliope, Melpomene and several paternal half-siblings

|consort = Apollo, Achelous, Ares

|children = Linus, Biston, the Sirens

}}

File:Palestra grande di pompei, affreschi di Moregine, primo triclinio , IV stile, epoca neroniana, le muse 02 tersicore.jpg]]

In Greek mythology, Terpsichore ({{IPAc-en|t|ɚ|p|ˈ|s|ɪ|k|ər|iː}}; {{langx|grc|Τερψιχόρη}}, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance".

Appearance

Terpsichore is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs with her music. Her name comes from the Greek words τέρπω ("delight") and χoρός ("dance").

Family

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus lay with the Titan Mnemosyne each night for nine nights in Piera, producing the nine Muses.Gantz, p. 54; Hesiod, Theogony [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:53-62 53–62], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:901-937 915–7].

According to Apollonius of Rhodes, Terpsichore was the mother of the Sirens by the river god Achelous.Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/354/mode/2up?view=theater 4.893 (pp. 354, 355)]; so too Nonnus, Dionysiaca [https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca01nonnuoft/page/452/mode/2up?view=theater 13.313–5 (pp. 452, 453)]; Tzetzes, Chiliades, [http://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades1.html#14 1.14], line 338 & 348. The Etymologicum Magnum mentions her as the mother of the Thracian king Biston by Ares.Etymologicum Magnum, [https://archive.org/details/etymologikontome00etymuoft/page/n109/mode/2up?view=theater 197.59 (p. 179)]. According to the Byzantine scholar Eustathius, Terpsichore was the mother of the Thracian king Rhesus by the river god Strymon.Eustathius on Homer, Iliad p. 817.{{verify source|date=June 2023}}

In culture

File:Terpsichore.jpg (1739)]]

=Historical=

The British 32-gun frigate {{HMS|Terpsichore (1785)}} commanded by Captain Bowen participated in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797).

=Literature=

When The Histories of Herodotus were divided by later editors into nine books, each book was named after a Muse. Terpsichore was the name of the fifth book.

=Music and dance=

Terpsichore (1612) is the title of a large collection of dance tunes collected by Michael Praetorius, some originating with Pierre-Francisque Caroubel and some later adapted for wind ensemble by Bob Margolis.
Terpsichore is also found in François Couperin's "Second Ordre" from the Pièces de clavecin.
The third version (HWV 8c) of Handel's opera Il pastor fido (1712) includes a new prologue written in 1734 titled Terpsicore.
The eighteenth century French dancer and courtesan Marie-Madeleine Guimard named the private theater in her private palace (1766) the Temple of Terpsichore.

Notes

References

Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica, translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912. [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
Etymologicum Magnum, edited by Friderici Sylburgii, Leipzig, J. A. G. Weigel, 1816. [https://archive.org/details/etymologikontome00etymuoft/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [https://archive.org/details/hesiodhomerichym00hesiuoft/page/78/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].