Thalia

Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry, Jean-Marc Nattier.

Thalia can refer to four distinct entities in Greek mythology, two of whom were daughters of Zeus, and a third of whom bore him sons. The name Thalia, or Thaleia (both pronounced /θəˈlaɪə/) is spelled Θάλεια in Greek and derives from the same stem as θάλλειν "to bloom".

The Muse

Thalia was a rustic goddess, one of the two Graces, and the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. In this context, her name means “flourishing,” because the praises in her songs flourish through time.^[1] Thalia was the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the eighth-born of the nine Muses. In art, Thalia was portrayed holding a comic mask, a shepherd’s staff, or a wreath of ivy. According to pseudo-Apollodorus, she and Apollo were the parents of the Corybantes.^[2]

Cultural references

• Thalia was portrayed by Actress Penelope Lagos in the 2008 TV pilot "Muse" written by Rudy Cecera.

• Thalia was also the main character in Clea Hantman's "Goddesses" series.

• The book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians also included a character named Thalia who was a daughter of Zeus, albeit born circa 1985.

• Thalia also appeared as the short, stout, clumsy Muse in the Walt Disney original movie Hercules

See also

• Muses in popular culture

References

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