Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia (Πολυύμνια), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime.

Etymology
Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly", meaning "many", and "hymnos", which means "praise".

Appearance
Polymnia is depicted as serious, pensive and meditative, and often holding a finger to her mouth, dressed in a long cloak and veil and resting her elbow on a pillar. Polyhymnia is also sometimes credited as being the Muse of geometry and meditation.

In Bibliotheca historica, Diodorus Siculus wrote, "Polyhymnia, because by her great (polle) praises (humnesis) she brings distinction to writers whose works have won for them immortal fame...".

Family
As one of the Muses, Polyhymnia is the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne. She was also described as the mother of Triptolemus by Cheimarrhoos, son of Ares, and of the musician Orpheus by Apollo.

Dedications
On Mount Parnassus, there was a spring sacred to the Muses. It was said to flow between two big rocks above Delphi, then down into a large square basin. The water was used by the Pythia, who were priests and priestesses, for oracular purposes including divination.

In popular culture

 * In astronomy, there are ten asteroids named after the Muses, and moons named after another two. The one named after Polyhymnia is a main belt asteroid discovered by Jean Chacornac, a French astronomer, in 1854.
 * Polyhymnia appears in Dante's Divine Comedy: Paradiso. Canto XXIII, line 56, and is referenced in modern works of fiction.