"Temple of Melpomene" is an expression that is often found in fiction. Educated people sometimes use it in colloquial speech in order to give their words a special refinement. Who is Melpomene? What does this character symbolize? The meaning and origin of the phraseologism "Temple of Melpomene" are revealed in today's article.
Muses
There are many characters in ancient Greek myths. Many of them are sons or daughters of Zeus. Muses also have a direct relationship with the main ancient Greek god. The daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne - the goddess personifying memory - live on Parnassus, patronize art and science. These characters are mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.
How many Muses? The myths of the ancient Greeks speak of nine. Each of them is in charge of a certain area of activity of mere mortals. Euterpe, for example,patronizes music and poetry. Clio - stories. What is the scope of the muse named Eroto, it is easy to guess. From this deity, according to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, the fate of the authors of lyrical poems depended.
We will not talk in detail about all the muses, but we will pay attention to the heroine of ancient myths, on whose behalf the expression "Temple of Melpomene" came about. What is this muse responsible for?
Melpomene
The deity was depicted as a beautiful young woman with a bandage on her head. She certainly wore a wreath of ivy leaves and grapes. She was dressed in a theatrical robe, which partially reveals the meaning of the phrase "Temple of Melpomene".
In the photo presented in this article, you can see the work of sculpture. It depicts a woman in whose hands is a tragic mask and club. What do these attributes symbolize? Mace means inevitable punishment to anyone who violates the will of the gods. The Muses were gentle and beautiful creatures, but, like the true daughters of Zeus, they sometimes showed cruelty.
The very name "Melpomene" in ancient Greek means "a melody that pleases the listeners". An asteroid discovered in the middle of the 19th century was named after this ancient Greek character. Herodotus dedicated one of the books of his "History" to this deity. This female character was very popular with the ancient Greeks. And the motives of ancient legends deeply penetrated into the culture of Europe. It is not surprising that in the speech of modern people it is often foundPhraseologism "Temple of Melpomene". What type of art was patronized by the muse?
The meaning of phraseology "the temple of Melpomene"
Muse patronized tragedy. This genre of literature was very popular among the inhabitants of Ancient Greece. The founder of tragedy is Aeschylus. Today it is generally accepted that Melpomene personifies theatrical art, which should be understood not only as a tragedy, but also as a comedy.
Phraseologism, the meaning of which we are considering, can sometimes serve as a synonym for the word "theater". Melpomene is a symbol of tragic stage art. Poets often mentioned her name in their works.
In one of Pushkin's poems we meet the phrase "Melpomene's pet". As for the phraseological unit mentioned above, it is present in the works of many authors, including Joseph Brodsky. He called one of his poems "Temple of Melpomene".
