Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia was one of the nine Muses, the goddesses of music, song and dance.

Residence: Mount Olympus
Parents: Zeus and Mnemosyne
Siblings: The Muses

Mosaic Detail of Polyhymnia. Mosaic of the Muses, Vichten Roman Villa, 2nd-3rd c. AD. Luxembourg City History Museum.

In the Classical era, when the Muses were assigned specific artistic and literary spheres, Polyhymnia was named Muse of religious hymns and portrayed as a woman in a pensive or meditative pose. Her name was derived from the Greek words poly- “many” and hymnos “praise” or “hymn.”

Roman statue of Polyhymnia, 2nd c. AD, depicting her in the act of dancing. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. (c) ChrisO
Roman Mosaic of the Muses. Vichten Roman Villa, 2nd-3rd c. AD. Luxembourg City History Museum.
Hellenistic marble relief of Homer as a god with the Muses seen at the bottom, c. 225-205 BC, from Bovillae. British Museum.

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