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
Greek name name James is a derivative of Ἰάκωβος/ Iakovos. Greek family names are most commonly patronymics but may also be based on occupation, personal characteristics or location. The [[feminine gender|feminine]] version is usually the [[genitive case|genitive]] of the family name of the woman's father or husband; so, for example, Mr. Yannatos and Mrs. [[Savina Yannatou|Yannatou]]. As a result of their codification in the Modern Greek state, surnames have [[Katharevousa]] forms even though Katharevousa is no longer the official standard. Thus, the Ancient Greek name Eleutherios forms the Modern Greek proper name Lefteris. In the past, people in speaking used the family