Thalia (Muse)
Thalia | |
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Goddess of Comedy | |
Member of the Muses | |
Personal information | |
Parents | Zeus and Mnemosyne |
Siblings | Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Urania, Clio, Erato, Calliope, Terpsichore, Melpomene |
Consort | Apollo |
Children | the Corybantes |
In Greek mythology, Thalia (/θəˈlaɪə/ or /ˈθeɪliə/; Ancient Greek: Θάλεια; "the joyous, the flourishing", from Ancient Greek: θάλλειν, thállein; "to flourish, to be verdant"), also spelled Thaleia, was one of the Muses, the goddess who presided over comedy and idyllic poetry. In this context her name means "flourishing", because the praises in her songs flourish through time.
Appearance
Thalia was portrayed as a young woman with a joyous air, crowned with ivy, wearing boots and holding a comic mask in her hand. Many of her statues also hold a bugle and a trumpet (both used to support the actors' voices in ancient comedy), or occasionally a shepherd's staff or a wreath of ivy.
Family
Thalia was the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the eighth-born of the nine Muses. According to Apollodorus, she and Apollo were the parents of the Corybantes.