Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse paintings of Melpoméne, she is represented with a tragic mask and also often holds in her other hand a knife or club. In Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who had eight other daughters, Melpoméne's sisters and the eight other muses are: Calliope, muse of epic poetry; Clio, muse of history; Euterpe, muse of flute playing; Terpsichore, muse of dancing; Erato, muse of erotic poetry; Thalia muse of comedy; Polyhymnia, muse of hymns; and Urania, muse of astronomy. Reynolds was inspired not only by Sarah Siddons' extreme talent to embody the tragic heroine in Macbeth, but
Instruction in Ancient Greek perhaps only a small part compared to the significant amount of weekly periods required by Italian "liceo classico" schools. Last but not least, other successful entrepreneurs, such as Steve Jobs, did not know Latin and Ancient Greek. Instruction in Ancient Greek Ancient Greek language is still taught in some parts of the world. One of the very few schooling systems where Ancient Greek is still a compulsory subject, is Italy. Ancient Greek is usually treated as a written language in formal instruction. In Italy, Ancient Greek is a compulsory subject only for "liceo classico" schools students. Students of different Italian